Scores of fresh artillery rounds fired from Pakistan hit parts of eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night and Monday, a local official said, according to the Washington Post.
The shelling comes a day after Kabul warned Islamabad that any further cross-border shelling could significantly damage ties between the two historically uneasy neighbors. There were no casualties from the overnight barrage that mostly hit the Dangam district of eastern Kunar province. Earlier in the weekend, four civilians were killed in shelling there, said Wasifullah Wasifi, a spokesman for Kunar’s governor. In western Afghanistan, a gunman in an Afghan security forces uniform on Sunday shot and killed three civilian contractors working with the US-led NATO coalition.
Five coalition troops were killed by roadside bombs during the weekend in other parts of the country. Kunar Police Chief Ewaz Mohammad Naziri said 1,960 shells, mostly artillery rounds, had hit various districts of the province in recent months. Pakistan denies that accusation. It comes a few days after Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss joint efforts for persuading Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan to join peace talks and end the cross-border shelling. On Sunday, deputy Afghan foreign minister Jawed Ludin met Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul and issued a warning.
“Any continuation of such reported shelling against Afghan villages could have a significant negative impact on bilateral relations,” Ludin told Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, the foreign ministry reported. The two sides agreed to hold a senior-level meeting of military officials soon to discuss the shelling and improve military coordination along the border region.