A shootout on Thursday between Afghan and Pakistani border guards in Maroof district — where the border between the two countries is poorly marked — killed one Afghan policeman, officials said.
According to police spokesman Zia Durrani in the Afghan province of Kandahar, the skirmish started shortly after dawn and lasted for about two hours. The two sides engaged in sporadic exchanges, using rifles and firing rockets across the boundary, he said.
Kandahar government spokesman Dawakhan Minapal said the fighting in the province’s remote district was sparked by an attempt by the Pakistani border police to construct an outpost on the Afghan side of the border.
But a Pakistani police official, Asif Yusufzai in the south-western Pakistani district of Qila Saifullah along the border with Afghanistan said Pakistani paramilitary forces “only retaliated” after the Afghan forces started shooting first. He said he didn’t have any details on whether anyone was killed or wounded.
Pakistani forces have been constructing a checkpoint on their side of the border, and the Afghan forces have been raising an objection against it, Mr. Yusufzai added.
The Afghan forces believe the area where the Pakistanis are constructing the checkpoint is disputed territory, he said.
