Fresh clashes on Pakistan-Afghanistan border kill two, wound several

People gather as they wait for the border to open after clashes between Afghan and Pakistani security forces, in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Saeed Ali Achakzai

QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani security forces have killed two people and wounded several in a border region of the two neighbours, officials said, the latest in a series of such skirmishes.

The forces started exchanging fire in a dispute over the setting up of a military check post in a southwestern border area that divides Chaman and Spin Boldak districts, three security officials told Reuters.

Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes that later spread to several nearby villages.

“It is regrettable that the Pakistani security officials first opened the fire,” Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.

Two civilians were killed and 22 wounded on Afghan side, a local Taliban spokesman Mohammad Asif Hakimi said. Five Taliban soldiers were also wounded, he said.

“Afghans made the first move and opened unprovoked fire on Pakistani troops when they asked Afghan soldiers to stop work on a post located on Pakistani side,” a Pakistani security official said.

Pakistani officials said several wounded included four security officials.

It is difficult to independently verify claims in the border region, which is off limits to journalists.

Pakistan’s army, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, has stepped up security operations along the Afghan border in recent weeks after a spate of militant attacks. read more

Islamist and separatist factions have killed at least 14 Pakistani soldiers in attacks over the past month, three of them

carried out by fighters entering from Afghanistan. read more

The Taliban have denied Afghan territory was used to stage the attacks.

Despite such assurances, disputes linked to the border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades.

The Taliban have attempted to block Pakistan’s plans to finish fencing the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border that was drawn by British colonial rulers with no consideration for the Pashtun tribes it divided.

It has never been recognised by any Afghan government.

Writing by Asif Shahzad; Additional reporting by Kabul Newsroom; Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

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