Pakistan rejects Afghan complaint on border constructions

Pakistan on Thursday rejected Afghanistan's claim that Pakistani forces have tried to build a checkpost on the Afghan side of the border after the Afghan foreign ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador and formally lodged a protest.

Pakistan and Afghan officials have confirmed the exchange of firing late on Tuesday that caused casualties on both sides.

Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Siddiqi Siddiqi said on Wednesday that "Pakistan forces had been involved in illegal construction in Afghanistan's Paktika province".

He said an Afghan border police commander was killed in the shelling by the Pakistani forces.

The Pakistan military said a "rocket and a few rounds of small arms were fired on Angoor Adda (South Waziristan) gate from Afghan side due to which two Pakistani security personnel were injured".

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said on Thursday that Pakistani forces have not violated the border and the forces remained within its border, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It is being constructed well within the Pakistani territory," the spokesman said when a reporter asked about Kabul's claim that the construction was in Afghan territory.

There had been a lull in the cross-border attacks for months as both countries had increased contains and improved relations.

Earlier on Thursday, the Afghan foreign ministry summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan Sayed Ibrar Hussain and protested over what it described as indiscriminate firing by Pakistani forces on Afghan Border Police on Tuesday night which left an Afghan border security personnel dead.

"The deputy to foreign ministry, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, while conveying Afghanistan's concerns and protest to the Pakistani ambassador, pointed out that firing by Pakistani forces on the Afghan side is against international laws and diplomatic norms, warning repetition of such acts would damage the bilateral efforts for improving mutual relations and co-existence between the two neighbouring states," a statement of the ministry for foreign affairs here said.

The Afghan official also called upon the Pakistani government to take immediate steps for halting such provocative actions.

An Afghan border police personnel named Najibullah, according to media reports, was killed in the firing from across the border in Barmal district of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province two nights ago.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a nearly 2,600-km long border.