Senators ask govt to stop Pakistani incursions

KABUL.

Islamabad has been accused of shelling Afghan areas, particularly the eastern province of Kunar, along the Durand Line over the past three years, causing casualties and displacement.

One such incursion occurred on May 15 into the Maroof district of southern Kandahar province, where an Afghan policeman was killed. The clash was triggered by Pakistan’s attempt to set up installations in zero-point areas.

Speaking in the general session, Senator Ali Akbari Jamshedi referred to the raid. He said the government, specially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was duty-bound to prevent such escalatory incidents.

The legislator from central Daikundi province warned the skirmishes could snowball into a full-blown crisis between the neighbours if the government remained silent on the issue.

His colleague from southern Zabul province, Mohammad Daud Hasas suggested that the international community, just like the Afghan government, should mount pressure on Pakistan to halt the attacks. “We are caught in myriad problems, as Pakistan has resorted to brazen aggression.”

Bismillah Afghanmal, another public representative from Kandahar province, remarked: “If the government isn’t ready to discharge its duty, we are willing to show our valour yet again in defence of our motherland.”

A lawmaker from Nangarhar, Lutfullah Baba, called for equipping Afghan forces with modern weapons to counter Pakistani incursions. He slammed the rulers’ silence on the issue, saying: “We have to stop Punjab-paid paramilitary troops.”

Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar also asked the Karzai administration to break its silence. “We don’t recognise the Durand Line as a border. Our forces are responsible for the security of Afghans on both sides.”

He affirmed the senators’ willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with their security forces to defend Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

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