Pakistan army does not want escalations with Afghanistan: Spokesperson

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-10 23:37:09|Editor: yan
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ISLAMABAD, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan army said on Wednesday that the country's security forces do not want escalation on the border with Afghanistan, according to local media.

The remarks by army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor came following exchange of fire between Pakistan and Afghan forces along the Chaman border in southwestern Balochsitan province which caused casualties on both sides.

The Pakistan Army had stated earlier that the Afghan Border Police opened fire on Pakistani border forces Frontier Corps (FC) in charge of security of a population census team in Balochistan on Friday.

However, Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal had blamed Pakistan for incursion into the Afghan side of the border.

Both sides later declared ceasefire along the Chaman border, but the border between the countries has been closed since then.

"We want a border coordination mechanism with Afghanistan," the army spokesman said, adding that the clashes between the Pakistan and Afghan troops occurred when the Afghan police "resisted Pakistani forces plan to carry out census on the Pakistani side of the border."

He refused to comment on the controversy over the death toll on the Afghan side, and said "Pakistan and Afghanistan are close neighbors and border clashes should have not happened."

He further said Pakistani forces had informed the Afghan authorities about the census in a village that is divided between the two countries.

"When our census team and the security forces were heading the village, the Afghan forces opened fire at the team," he said.

"Pakistani forces were forced to retaliate in self-defence," the army spokesman said.

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