Afghanistan on Thursday lodged an official complaint with Pakistan over alleged cross-border shelling by the neighboring country’s troops this week that killed three Afghan civilians and wounded two others.
A statement says Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai summoned the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul to register the protest and convey concerns of his country over the incident, calling it “against the principles of good neighborhood and international law and norms.”
Karzai said that Pakistani troops have shelled several areas in the Afghan border provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar in the past few days and a woman is also among those killed in the attacks. He demanded an immediate halt to the Pakistani shelling.
“These attacks not only caused financial and physical losses to the people of Afghanistan, but also raised the concern, hatred and protest of the people, national assembly and the government of Afghanistan that can affect the relations between the two countries,” warned Karzai.
Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on the Afghan allegation.
NATO commander in Pakistan
Meanwhile, NATO's top commander in Afghanistan, General John Campbell, was in Pakistan Thursday for talks with Pakistan's military chief General Raheel Sharif.
Army spokesman Major-General Asim Bajwa says the two leaders discussed security situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
He quoted General Campbell as appreciating Pakistani counter-militancy operations near the border and saying they are helping to bring peace and stability in the entire region.
Bajwa added that the U.S. general also acknowledged "Pakistan's sincere efforts, particularly" for facilitating recent talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Pakistan hosted the dialogue earlier this month and it was the first direct contact between the two sides in 14 years.
