Pakistan And Afghanistan Dispute Casualty Toll After Border Clashes

The Diplomat: After Border Skirmish, Afghanistan and Pakistan Cite Vastly Divergent Casualty Counts

Pakistan claims to have killed 50 Afghan security personnel — a claim strongly denied by Afghanistan.


Tensions along Afghanistan’s disputed border with Pakistan may have reached a new high over the weekend. On Sunday, the Pakistani Army claimed to have retaliated against an attack by Afghan security, killing up to 50 Afghan personnel and injuring another 100.

The Pakistani claims, made by the Inspector General (IG) of the Balochistan Frontier Corps (FC), Major General Nadeem Anjum, were immediately denied by Afghanistan. Sediq Sediqqi, the director of media for the Afghan presidential palace, said the claims were “very false” in a tweet, saying that Afghanistan completely rejected the Pakistani claims.

“We are not pleased to tell you that five Afghan check posts were completely destroyed — more than 50 of their soldiers were killed and above 100 were wounded,” Major General Nadim Ahmad, head of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps, told the press.

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More News On Afghanistan - Pakistan Border Tensions

Pakistan and Afghanistan dispute toll after clashes -- Al Jazeera
Pakistan claims it killed 50 Afghan border troops -- Washington Post
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Dispute Death Toll In Border Clash -- RFE
Afghanistan Rejects Pakistan Claim of Killing 50 Afghan Forces -- Bloomberg
Afghanistan-Pakistan border clash: Afghanistan rejects Pakistan’s claims of killing 50 soldiers -- Indian Express/PTI
Worst border clashes in years: Are Afghanistan and Pakistan at war? -- Shamil Shams, DW

Pakistan Resigns Itself To A Long War In The Tribal Areas On The Afghan Border

Washington Post: Pakistan braces for a long and deadly war in tribal areas on Afghan border

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — When 10 Pakistani soldiers tried to dislodge Taliban militants from a madrassa near the Afghan border this summer, their advance was crippled by relentless gunfire. Within minutes, two soldiers were dead, and Imran Ali had so many bullets in his legs he couldn’t tell whether they were still attached.

For 22 agonizing hours, Ali said, he curled up on the floor waiting for other soldiers to fight their way in to rescue him. After he was finally flown to safety, his left leg was amputated at the knee, and he became another victim of the Pakistani army’s latest offensive against Islamist militants in the restive tribal area of North Waziristan.

WNU Editor: This paragraph sums up Pakistan past and what some analysts believe are Pakistan's prospects in this conflict ....

.... Some analysts and U.S. officials are skeptical, however, that the Pakistani army can stomach a prolonged fight against Islamist militants, some of whom were nurtured by Pakistani defense and intelligence agencies as bulwarks against India and might still be viewed as assets. Other analysts say that even if the military fights stoutly, it is unclear whether it can win.

At least (according to the above Washington post video) they are now starting to take care of their wounded soldiers.

Afghan - Pakistan Border Clashes Continue

Second Afghan-Pakistan Border Clash In A Week -- BBC

Afghan and Pakistani troops have clashed across the border between the two countries for the second time in a week.

There are no reports of serious casualties in the latest clashes.

One Afghan border police guard was killed and two Pakistani troops injured in violence on Wednesday.

The renewed fighting comes after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government would never recognise the current border with Pakistan.

Afghan grievances over the frontier with Pakistan date back to its being drawn as the so-called Durand Line by the then colonial power Britain in 1893, the BBC's David Loyn reports from Kabul.

The governor of the Afghan province of Nangarhar said that several Pakistani border checkpoints were torn down just south of the Khyber Pass.

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More News On Border Clashes between Afghan - Pakistan Troops

Afghan, Pakistani forces again clash on disputed border; NATO troops broker truce -- Washington Post
Fighting Renews Along Afghan-Pakistani Border -- Voice of America
Clashes Resume Along Afghan-Pakistan Border Amid Karzai Protests -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Afghan-Pakistani troops clash again near disputed border post -- Stars and Stripes
Afghan, Pakistani Troops Clash Again At Disputed Border -- Radio Free Europe
Pak-Afghan border clashes resumed in Goshta district -- Khaama Press
Afghan-Pakistani border tension flares again -- Al Jazeera
Afghanistan warns Pakistan after border clash erupts again -- Reuters
Afghanistan lodges protest with Pakistan over border incident -- FOX News/AP
Afghanistan lodge strong protest with Pakistan over unprovoked attack -- Khaama Press
Durand Line is a settled issue, says Pakistani officials -- Khaama Press
A Border Clash Stirs Emotions in Afghanistan -- New York Times

Maj. Gen. John Toolan Comments On Pakistan

A U.S. Army paratrooper teaches Afghan boys how to do the “fist bump” in southern Ghazni province, Afghanistan, April 22, 2012. The soldier is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, and is part of a patrol securing Highway 1, the country’s main highway between Kabul and Kandahar. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

Pakistan's Border Control 'A Source Of Frustration' For U.S. Forces -- US News and World Report

'Huge' amounts of drugs, weapons move across border, and one general wants Pakistan to take on more responsibility.

U.S. commanders have come to accept there is a limit to the steps Pakistani leaders are willing to take toward halting the flow of drugs and bomb-making materials in Afghanistan, says one key general.

The Taliban and remaining al Qaeda forces have long benefited from the relative freedom they enjoy on Pakistani soil, something Maj. Gen. John Toolan calls "a source of frustration."

Toolan, who was NATO's Regional Command Southwest chief until last month, told reporters Tuesday in Washington the movement of illicit items back-and-forth across the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border is "free flowing."

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My Comment: Bottom line .... after U.S. forces withdraw, Pakistan will continue to be a destabilizing force rather than a stabilizing force in the region.

U.S And Pakistan Relations Are Hitting A New Low

Pakistani students torch a US flag in a protest in Karachi on September 23 against US military operations in Pakistani territory Photograph: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP

Pakistan's President Warns Against US Incursions -- The Guardian

Pakistani forces fire at an American helicopter on the border with Afghanistan

Pakistan has warned US troops not to intrude on its territory after Pakistani forces fired at an American helicopter along the border with Afghanistan.

In a speech at the UN general assembly in New York, Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, vowed that his country would continue to fight terrorism within its border, but warned against incursions by other forces.

The US has stepped up operations in the Afghan-Pakistan border regions, known to be Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds, causing anger among many Pakistanis.

"Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory to be used by terrorists for attacks against our people and our neighbours, we cannot allow our territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends," Zardari said. "Unilateral actions of great powers should not inflame the passions of allies."

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More News On U.S. Pakistani Relations

Pakistani, U.S. clash won't escalate: analysts -- Reuters
Pakistan leader slams US after border gunfire -- AFP
US and Pakistani forces clash again in Afghanistan -- Euronews
Border incident highlights Pakistani-US tension -- AFP
Border Clashes Add to US-Pakistani Tensions -- Time Magazine

My Comment: This conflict on the border is hoing to get worse when American casualties start to come in. Pakistan must reign in their lawless frontier regions. Their citizens are festering an open war that will bring catastrophe for all.

Pakistani Troops Fired On U.S. Helicopters

US helicopters operate at a military compound of Afghan army in Kabul, Afghanistan

Pak Troops Did Not Fire On US Helicopters: Pentagon
-- Times Of India

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: The Pentagon on Monday denied reports that Pakistani troops fired on two US military helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and forced them to turn back.

"I've checked into that and find it to be a spurious report," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. "Did not happen. I've checked all the places that would know about something like that and it doesn't appear to be accurate."

Earlier in the day, reports quoting Pakistani security officials said that firing by Pakistani troops forced US military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory in the early hours of Monday. ( Watch )

The incident took place near Angor Adda, a village in the tribal region of South Waziristan where US commandos in helicopters raided a suspected al-Qaida and Taliban camp earlier this month.

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My Comment: Now we know who our friends are.

The Afghan-Pakistan Militant Nexus

From The BBC:

Seven years after 9/11, the US has declared the Afghan-Pakistan border region to be the new frontline in its war on terror. Use the map to see how militants operate on either side of the border.

Go to this link for the interactive map.