Army officer Major Ali Jawad Changezi, who was injured by Afghan firing at the Torkham border on Monday, succumbed to his injuries at the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar on Tuesday (today).
Security sources confirmed his death and added that his funeral will take place in Peshawar and he will be laid to rest in his hometown Quetta.
The battle between Afghan and Pakistani security personnel began on Sunday after “Afghan security forces resorted to unprovoked firing directed at the Pakistani side of the Torkham Gate,” a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had earlier said.
The ISPR statement added that, in order to check movement of terrorists through Torkham, Pakistan is constructing a gate on its side of the border as a necessity to check unwanted and illegal movement.
Since Sunday, intermittent exchanges have taken place between the two sides, injuring six Pakistani civilians and 10 security personnel, including a major and a lieutenant. The injured troops belong to the army, FC, and Khasadar Force.
The Foreign Office on Monday summoned the Afghan envoy to express anger over unprovoked firing by Afghan troops at the Torkham border crossing which left several Pakistani troops and civilians injured.
The FO in a statement explained that the gate was being constructed for “facilitating cross-border movement” and that Kabul had been intimated about the government policy about regulating the crossings.
Meanwhile at a meeting in Kabul, Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah defended the action and said bilateral understandings required mutual consent before construction of new installations near the border.
The firing erupted again on Monday afternoon when Pakistani border forces restarted installation of the gate inside its own territory near the Torkham border’s zero-point.
Reports from across the border claim six have been wounded on the Afghan side, with one official having died.
