Skirmishes broke out once again between the Taliban and Pakistani forces in the Shero Aoba area in the Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar province on Thursday afternoon.
A source from Spin Boldak told Amu TV that the clashes which lasted one hour were started by Pakistani forces when they opened fire on the Taliban who were busy rebuilding a security checkpoint in the area.
According to the sources, the two sides used heavy machine guns and fired off mortars during the skirmish.
A Taliban official in Spin Boldak, who wished to remain anonymous, said that five people, including three Taliban forces, one woman, and one child, were wounded in the incident.
The source added that Pakistani forces were shelling civilian houses.
Pakistan’s Chaman district
Around 15 casualties, including civilians, were reported across the divide in the Chaman district of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
According to reports, all the wounded people were transferred to hospitals for treatment.
Taliban’s defense ministry
The Taliban defense ministry said in a statement that the Pakistani side started the clashes and said: “Unfortunately, today, once again Pakistani soldiers started shooting and fighting in Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district.”
The statement said that the Taliban consider “talks” as a rational way to resolve disputes.
“Negative measures and looking for excuses for clashes are also not in the interest of any side,” the statement read.
Pakistan
Pakistan has yet to comment regarding today’s clashes. The clashes took place a day after Pakistan said that the Taliban had “apologized” for last week’s border clashes.
Chaman friendship crossing
Following the clashes, the Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing was closed to the public. However, sources said that movement via the crossing has been restricted.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of public relations of Spin Boldak district, told Amu TV that the crossing remains open to the people.
The closure of the commercial trade border due to clashes has always inflicted financial losses to residents and Afghan traders.
Around 45,000 people also cross into the two bordering areas for medical and business purposes on a daily basis.
Border skirmishes affect trade
Mohammad Sediq Mohmand, head of the trade and investment chamber in Kandahar, said that the recent clashes in the Spin Boldak district inflicted heavy financial losses to businessmen.
Mohmand said that Spin Boldak is an important commercial area for Afghanistan and Pakistan and that the two sides have to take concrete steps to ensure security.
“The military conflict between Spin Boldak and Chaman has a direct impact on business and causes heavy [financial] losses to businessmen. We request that the problem be resolved through dialogue,” Mohmand said.
This is the 11th skirmish between the Taliban and Pakistani forces in Spin Boldak district since the Taliban regained power in August last year.
