Afghanistan warns Pakistan over cross-border shelling
22 September, 2012
UNITED NATIONS: Afghanistan has called on Pakistan to halt cross-border shelling, warning the UN Security Council that the attacks could jeopardise already tense relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, a UN envoy said that there were a growing number of "uprisings" against the Taliban in Afghanistan areas under the group's control. Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul on Thursday said that attacks from Pakistan were "a matter of deep and serious concern" and had caused "unprecedented anger and frustration among Afghans". Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of staging repeated shelling barrages across the border into Kunar province. "We reiterate our call for an immediate and complete end to these acts, which have taken the lives of dozen of Afghans, mainly civilians, while leaving many wounded," Rassoul told the 15-nation council during a meeting. He said the Afghan government was in contact with Pakistan to end the attacks "holistically and resolutely." Rassoul said that Afghanistan wanted "close and fruitful relations" with its neighbour, which had frequently been accused of backing Taliban militants seeking to overthrow Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government. Pakistan in turn has said that groups of Pakistani Taliban sheltering in Afghanistan have infiltrated the border to resume attacks on its security forces. UN special representative in Afghanistan Jan Kubis said, "The reports of uprisings against the Taliban in various parts of the country are a new development requiring greater analysis." He added, however, that the causes of the new violence were "complex". "Desire for local communities to have security and justice led them to taking the situation into their own hands. There is a risk of even greater fragmentation of the security environment," Kubis said. "This is an invitation to the government to increase support for the communities, to increase the delivery of law and order, to increase delivery of government services," he added. End.
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