'Pakistani forces killed 2 Afghan soldiers, not 50'

Afghanistan's envoy to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal on Monday rubbished claims that Pakistani security forces killed 50 Afghan soldiers in retaliation to allegedly unprovoked firing in Balochistan's Chaman area, saying that only two Afghan soldiers were killed and seven others injured.

"Woke up to celebratory front page headlines today in all Pakistani papers saying Pakistan killed 50 Afghani soldiers and injured 100 in Chaman clash," Zakhilwal tweeted.

Criticising the news, he further tweeted: "Chaman clash left casualties, deaths & injured, on Pak side too but we instead of celebrating called it unfortunate & regrettable."

Zakhilwal asserted that the loss of even two lives "are too many if our claim for seeking good neighbourly relations is genuine and if we mean well for each other", Dawn online reported.

On Sunday, Major General Nadeem Anjum, Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC) - Balochistan, claimed that 50 Afghan soldiers were killed and another 100 injured as Pakistani forces retaliated to unprovoked firing by Afghan border forces in Chaman area.

He was briefing media persons here over a cross-border attack in Chaman on May 5, in which 12 Pakistani civilians were killed and 40 injured when Afghan border forces opened fire at security personnel guarding a census team, although Kabul was informed of the exercise in advance.

Maj. Gen. Anjum said four or five checkposts were also destroyed when Pakistani border guards retaliated to the cross-border attack.

--IANS

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