Four Pakistani soldiers were killed and six others injured in Balochistan’s Manzakai Sector while trying to fence the contentions Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The Pakistani ISPR in a press release said that terrorists from Afghanistan opened fire at the Frontier Corps (FC) personnel who, at the time, were busy fencing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
The names of the martyred FC personnel are Hawaldar Noor Zaman, Sipahi Shakeel Abbas, Sipahi Ahsanullah and Naik Sultan. The injured have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta for treatment.
Pakistan’s Interior Sheikh Rasheed condemned the attack and tweeted
ژوب بلوچستان دہشت گردی واقع کی مذمت کرتا ہوں
دہشت گردوں کی فائرنگ سے ایف سی اہلکاروں کی شہادت پر دکھ کا اظہار
ایف سی اہلکاروں پر فائرنگ کا واقعہ اانتہائی افسوسناک ہے۔
دہشت گرد پاک افواج کے حوصلے پست نہیں کر سکتے ۔
پاک افغان بارڈر پر باڑ لگانے کا کام ہر صورت مکمل کیا جائے گا
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) May 5, 2021
I condemn the Zhob Balochistan terrorist incident and express grief over the martyrdom of FC personnel by terrorists. The incident of firing on FC personnel is very unfortunate. Terrorists cannot discourage Pakistani forces.
Taking to Twitter, the ISPR had said: “[The] unfortunate rise in violent incidents on both sides of [the] Pak-Afghan border is meant to derail Afghanistan Peace Process.” “Pakistan earnestly believes that both countries deserve peace and progress. Together we will defeat all spoilers,” it added
Afghanistan-Pakistan Border
Besides the India-Pakistan border, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has been both contentious and volatile. Due to the infiltration of terrorists, the Pakistani Army has been building a fence much to the anguish of the Afghan government.
The nearly 2,600 km border dividing the areas between the two countries is called the Durand Line — drawn by the British in 1893. Though Pakistan has accepted the Durand Line, the Afghan governments — be it Taliban or the Ghani or earlier governments — have never recognized the border.
Pakistan has been aggressively working to seal the border for border management, controlling the unregulated flow of terror groups and being able to check drugs and arms smuggling from Afghanistan.
The Afghan government says the border fencing by Pakistan is illegal. It says the Pakistani army fencing project has separated many families and also properties on either side of the region.
At many places, the border is highly contentious as it intersects through houses and other properties. Afghanistan renounces the border fencing and says the Durand Line cuts off the Pashtuns on both sides.
The Afghan government also claims that Pakistan wants to seize vital border areas of Afghanistan. Often Afghan soldiers have pulled down or damaged the fences which it says have been built on its territory.
