Renewed clashes overnight at a Pakistani-Afghan border crossing killed an Afghan border guard and wounded five, an Afghan official said today as Islamabad dispatched more troops to the volatile boundary amid an escalation between the two neighbours.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded blame for the latest violence while calling for a peaceful resolution. However, intermittent shooting continued throughout the day today, according to two Pakistani officials.
The Afghan guard is the third fatality since Sunday night, when clashes erupted at the Torkham border crossing over the construction of a gate by Pakistan on disputed territory. Over two dozen border guards from both sides have been wounded so far.
Afghan border police official Jamal Khan said the guard was killed yesterday. Another Afghan guard was killed the first night of the violence and a Pakistani officer wounded in the border clashes died yesterday.
Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, which lies along the border, called on Pakistan to stop shooting toward the Afghan side, adding that fighting "is not the solution."
Intelligence and defense officials briefed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the situation today. The meeting was attended by Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and speakers of the upper and lower houses of parliament, a statement issued by Ghani's office said. The statement called for a "diplomatic solution" while expressing support for the security forces.
