Clashes Between Afghan And Pakistani Frontier Guards At Border

Last night clashes occurred between the frontier guards at the Pakistani-Afghan border in the region of the village of Gulyam Gulhan in the Khost Province. No data about victims have been so far reported.

Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told reporters in Kabul that a unit of Pakistani servicemen "invaded the Afghan territory ten kilometres inside." However, according to the version of the Pakistani side, as has been reported by the Frontier Post, a newspaper published in English, the Afghan frontier guards allegedly intended to organise a customs point at the border in the Pakistani territory. The newspaper says that this disputable part of the border has not been demarcated.

After the events of September 11, 2001, Pakistan set up a number of checkpoints along the border with Afghanistan to prevent penetration of terrorists and smugglers from Afghanistan. This was done with the consent of the administration of the autonomous Northwest Frontier Province with its centre in Peshawar, inhabited mainly by Pashtoons. As the local observers believe, the questions of preserving security in the border area will be discussed by the two Presidents during the visit to Islamabad by head of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai on April 22.