Army to respond ‘foolish’ offensives with ‘full might’: Aamir Riaz

In the wake of the recent Pakistan-Afghanistan border clash, Commander Southern Command Lieutenant General Aamir Riaz said on Sunday that the Pakistan Army would respond to such “foolish” offensives from the other side with its “full might”.

“We were forced to retaliate and had to destroy four or five Afghan check-posts after they [the Afghan forces] tried to enter our territory,” the military official told reporters.

On Friday, at least 10 people, including women, children and a Frontier Corps (FC) man, were killed and 47 others injured after Afghan border forces resorted to ‘unprovoked’ firing at Pakistani troops guarding a census team.

In response, Inspector General FC Major General Nadeem Ahmed told the media on Sunday, Pakistani forces had targeted Afghan security check-posts, killing 50 people and injuring 100.

“Such attacks won’t benefit Afghanistan in any way and its government should be ashamed of these imprudent actions,” Radio Pakistan quoted Lt. Gen. Riaz as saying.

“The Afghan government has adopted a negative approach towards Pakistan and that’s why its forces are carrying out attacks inside our territory in a bid to challenge our sovereignty,” he added.

The incident occurred in the Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir villages of Chaman, which straddle the border and have been a source of controversy between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kabul claims the villages are part of the war-torn country’s Spin Boldak district, an assertion Pakistan flatly denies.

Both sides rushed reinforcements to the border and Pakistani authorities closed the Chaman crossing indefinitely once again. Pakistan had closed the border with Afghanistan for a month after a series of terrorist attacks across the country left around 100 people dead.

Replying to a question about the reopening of the border, Lt Gen. Riaz said it would remain closed until the situation became normal.

“Our government is trying to ease tensions after the outrageous attack,” he added.