Pakistan Rattling Its Saber over Latest Border Skirmish
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) — Pakistan hardly offered a conciliatory message on Tuesday in its latest spat with Afghanistan over recent border incidents.
Each side has accused the other of starting shootouts that have resulted in at least one death and several injuries.
Pakistan issued a statement Tuesday saying that five of its soldiers were wounded Monday when Afghan forces allegedly provoked a firefight in eastern Nangarhar province, the same border area where an Afghan police officer was killed last week.
Islamabad said, “In case of any further escalation as a result of this situation, the responsibility would be on the Afghan government.”
After Monday’s incident, the Afghan government demanded an apology while thousands gathered in Kabul for anti-Pakistani demonstrations.
Relations between the two countries, which have never been strong, have soured even more lately as the U.S. worries that without Pakistani cooperation, achieving a peaceful settlement to the ongoing war in Afghanistan with the Taliban will be extremely difficult.
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