News / Afghanistan

One killed as Afghan-Pakistan clashes resume

Wednesday, 15 June 2016 8:58 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 June 2016 3:07 AM ]

Pakistani border security personnel search an Afghan family entering Pakistan after crossing the Torkham Border on April 26, 2016. ©AFP

An Afghan border guard has been killed and five others have been injured in fresh clashes at a border crossing with Pakistan, an Afghan official says.

A police official said the Afghan guard was killed in the clashes late Tuesday. Pakistani officials confirmed the latest clash, saying that a ceasefire is now in place.

The Afghan guard was the third fatality since clashes erupted near the Torkham border crossing between the border guards of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday.

Another Afghan guard was killed in the clashes on Sunday and a Pakistani officer died of injuries he sustained during the violence on Tuesday.

Pakistan said on Wednesday that it has deployed more troops and weapons to the region.

Afghan border police stand guard near the Torkham crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on May 12, 2016. ©AFP

The clashes came after Pakistan began construction of a gate on disputed territory.

Pakistan says it wants to erect a gate on its own side of the border so as to check unwanted and illegal movement, and to block the entry of possible terrorists to the country.

Afghan officials say the additional gate is in an area which is a no man's land and blamed Pakistan for starting the violence.

Afghanistan and Pakistan share a 2,500-kilometer frontier, known as the Durand Line. The two neighbors are involved in a dispute over the British-era border demarcation.

Torkham is the most frequently used crossing gate at the common border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The crossing connects Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar to Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber tribal district.

Islamabad claims the crossing gate has recently been used by terrorists to enter Pakistan.

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