The Cross-border firing between Pak-Afghan forces at Chaman International border in Qilla Abdullah District of Balochistan killed 22 persons and injured at least 111 others on July 30, reports Reuters. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of killing 15 civilians and injuring 80 others during clashes. On Pakistan’s side, seven persons were killed and 31 injured. The violence flared when crowds waiting to cross into Afghanistan became unruly and attacked Pakistani installations, said a senior official in the Pakistani border town Chaman. The Governor of Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, Hayatullah Hayat, said on July 31, that shells fired by Pakistan Security Forces (SFs) fell on homes in the border town Spin Boldak, with women and children among 15 dead and 80 hurt, during the clashes between both nations’ SFs. “If the Pakistani military continues its rocket attacks on Afghan territory, they will face retaliation by the Afghan army,” Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
According to Pakistan Levies officials on July 30, hundreds of protesters belonging to the All Parties Traders Union had been staging a demonstration at Friendship Gate against the border's closure for the past two months, reports The News. The protesters reportedly forcibly removed the barricades placed in the area surrounding the gate and attempted to cross the border. Furthermore, they allegedly set fire to computers at a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office for border management, about 100 containers belonging to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as well as tents and offices at a quarantine centre nearby.
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry on July 31, said that the violent clashes took place after ‘unprovoked fire’ by Afghan forces. “Afghan forces opened unprovoked fire on innocent civilians gathered towards Pakistan’s side of the international border,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the statement, Pakistan troops which were deployed on the posts by the Friendship Gate “were also simultaneously engaged by Afghan posts”. The Foreign Office clarified that Pakistan’s security forces “responded to protect our local population and acted only in self-defence”. “It is reiterated that Pakistan [forces] did not open fire first and responded in self-defence only,” said the FO statement.
Earlier, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shibli Faraz said that the violent clashes occurred after the Government put a stop to smuggling. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the Faraz said that the borders of Torkham, Ghulam Khan, and Angor Ada were closed on account of Eid and in the light of the prevalent situation of coronavirus. He said that after the border's closure, most of the people who had gathered to cross it, dispersed. However, a few hundred stayed behind. "When the check posts were damaged, we were forced to retaliate," Faraz said, adding: "Shots were fired from across the border, which further worsened the situation."