GOSHTA, Afghanistan: Afghan border police, enraged by clashes with Pakistani counterparts, are pleading for more weapons to take on their neighbours.
The fighting, in which an Afghan border policeman was killed last week, has deteriorated relations between the key US allies. Pakistan is seen as vital in bringing stability to Afghanistan as most Western forces prepare to withdraw by the end of next year.
The commander of border police in Goshta district in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, Bakht Jamal Eshaaqzai, said his 250-strong force was armed with mortars and machine guns, but it would be difficult to match Pakistan’s heavy artillery and tanks.
He said Pakistan had 12 outposts in Goshta, while Afghanistan had three. “We are under threat from their superior equipment. We urge the government to send us more arms as soon as possible,” he told reporters and members of Kabul-based think tank Afghan Analysis Awareness.
Shahzada, who only goes by one name, said: “We have high morale, but what we need is heavy artillery. We’re ready to eliminate our enemies.”
Pakistan artillery has destroyed several Afghan outposts over the last week in Goshta. The cross-border clashes sparked large protests across Afghanistan, with thousands chanting “Death to Pakistan” in Kabul. Pakistan says both clashes were the result of unprovoked action by Afghan forces. Afghanistan and Pakistan have had testy relations since Pakistan was formed in 1947, at the end of British colonial rule over India. Afghanistan has never accepted the border between them, known as the Durand Line. Kabul says Pakistan is encroaching on its territory. Last week, Afghan police partially destroyed a Pakistani-built gate around 750 metres from their outpost.
Pakistan says fortifications built in recent years are for better management and are on its side of the border.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai reiterated that his country will never accept the current border. “If they (Pakistan) are trying to force Afghanistan to accept the Durand Line by way of these attacks, they will fail,” he said at an 80th anniversary function at Kabul University. Agencies
