PESHAWAR: Three Pakistani civilians were wounded in an exchange of gunfire between Pakistani and Afghan forces at the Torkham border crossing, a police official said on Monday, amid an ongoing dispute between the two sides over construction work along the border that has kept the vital crossing shut for nearly two weeks.
Torkham serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. Pakistan closed the border crossing in its northwestern Khyber district on Feb. 21 when Afghan authorities initiated “construction of trenches and other development work” along the border.
The tense situation escalated into a skirmish between the two border forces at Torkham in the wee hours of Monday, according to Naheed Khan, a senior police official in the Khyber district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that connects with Afghanistan.
“Both border forces traded fire last night at around 1:00am, using small and heavy weapons, which left three civilians injured. Some vehicles were damaged on the Pakistani side,” Khan told Arab News.
“Most of the families living near the border area have left toward Landikotal, a town close to the Torkham, to avoid casualties.”
Pakistani and Afghan officials have held at least two rounds of talks at Torkham, but negotiations between the two sides have failed to yield any results.
The busy crossing currently wears a deserted look and thousands of trucks and vehicles carrying goods, including fruits and vegetables, have been stranded on both sides since the closure of the border, according to Asghar Ali, a Pakistani custom clearing agent, told Arab News.
“People living on both sides of the border, businessmen, passengers and truckers are greatly discouraged due to frequent closure and reopening of this border. We have no expectations from Pakistani and Afghan officials to settle their issues amicably,” Ali said.
“They are living in constant enmity, which has no room in today’s world. Let the people do their business and feed their families.”
Kiftan Bacha, an Afghan custom clearing agent, said the closure of border has greatly troubled travelers, specifically patients, while several truckloads of perishable items have been wasted.
“Most of the passengers and trucks even went back to Kabul after waiting for days and even a week for reopening of the border,” he added.
In the past, border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces have led to the closure of key crossings like Torkham and Chaman, severely disrupting trade and halting the movement of people between the two countries.
On Sunday, Afghan consul-general in Peshawar Mohibullah Shakir met KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to discuss bilateral trade, regional peace and security, and issues faced by Afghan nationals residing in the northwestern Pakistani province, according to KP CM’s office.
“Discussion took place at the meeting on the difficulties faced by traders and common people on both sides due to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham,” Gandapur said in a statement.
“[Both figures] agreed on efforts to open the border as soon as possible in view of the month of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr.”
The development comes at a time of strained ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan over a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces that border Afghanistan.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
“The closure of the border is not in the interest of the people on both sides, it is causing difficulties to the business people as well as the common people,” CM Gandapur was quoted as saying by his office.
“There is a need to open the border as soon as possible in view of the difficulties faced by the people.”
Gandapur’s statement came hours after the KP administration urged Pakistani federal authorities to approve the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for its talks with Afghanistan on surging militancy “as soon as possible.”
The KP government said in February that it had decided to send two delegations, comprising tribal elders, religious scholars, and political leaders, to Kabul to engage in direct talks with the Afghan Taliban rulers for peace and stability in the province.
It followed a statement by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, in which he said the security situation in the region was directly linked to “developments in neighboring Afghanistan,” following a consultative meeting of various religious and political parties in the province.
However, Pakistan’s foreign office said it was not informed of KP’s decision to engage in talks with Kabul, adding that external ties with another country fell under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
Three Pakistani civilians injured as Afghan, Pakistani forces trade fire at Torkham border crossing
https://arab.news/b4cyh
Three Pakistani civilians injured as Afghan, Pakistani forces trade fire at Torkham border crossing
- The Torkham border crossing has been shut for 11 days due to Pakistan disputing Afghanistan’s construction work along border
- The key crossing serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries
Nationalist Bollywood hit ‘Dhurandhar’ ignites India-Pakistan controversy
- Movie stars Ranveer Singh as an Indian intelligence agent who infiltrates alleged criminal networks in Karachi
- Film has drawn sharp criticism from Pakistani officials while becoming one of the year’s biggest hits in India
A Bollywood spy thriller set in Pakistan has sparked heated debate across both countries over its portrayal of cross-border tensions, even as the film breaks box office records in India amid a surge in nationalist cinema.
“Dhurandhar,” starring Ranveer Singh as an Indian intelligence agent infiltrating criminal networks in Pakistan’s Karachi, has drawn sharp criticism from Pakistani officials and some international critics while becoming one of the year’s biggest commercial hits in India.
The 3.5-hour film, directed by Aditya Dhar, weaves real historical events including the 1999 plane hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks into a fictional narrative about an Indian spy’s mission to dismantle alleged links between Karachi gangs and terror networks.
Released Dec. 5 with minimal publicity, “Dhurandhar” has grossed more than 12.15 billion rupees ($134.76 million) in ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing Bollywood film last year.
“It is a unique thing. Most films are set in India, but in this film, a RAW agent infiltrates Pakistan and is living there, hiding his identity, and the film portrays all of that through this setup, about Karachi and everything. That’s why it is such a good film. I mean, it is very important to watch this film,” said movie-goer Naresh Kumar.
The film represents a growing trend in Indian cinema toward nationalist blockbusters that align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies, following controversial hits like “The Kashmir Files” and “The Kerala Story” that sparked debates over historical accuracy while achieving commercial success.
In India, some film critics faced online harassment for negative reviews, prompting the Film Critics Guild to condemn “targeted attacks” against reviewers.
“Films that evoke patriotic fervor among audiences generally do well, but that is not to say that any film with this kind of subject would have done well,” said Bollywood film analyst Komal Nahta. “Everything seems to have gone right with the film.”
The controversy highlights how cinema continues to reflect decades-old tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought four wars since partition in 1947. Fighting erupted between the countries in May following an attack on tourists in Kashmir that India blamed on Pakistan-backed militants.
In Pakistan’s Lyari neighborhood, which was depicted in the film, residents criticized the portrayal as inaccurate.
“It is a completely baseless movie because our neighboring country doesn’t know anything about our country,” said Mohammad Zohaib, a Lyari resident and burger shop owner. “They don’t know anything about Lyari, so how can they make a completely realistic film about someone?”
The Pakistan Peoples Party filed legal action in a Karachi court last month over the film’s unauthorized use of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s image and its portrayal of party leaders as terrorist sympathizers.
“About 10 percent of what has been shown in the movie is reality, 90 percent is not real,” said Khizer Abdul Wahid, a Lyari resident and beauty salon owner.
Pakistan banned Indian films in 2019, but Bollywood remains popular there with audiences using VPNs or illegal downloads to watch new releases.
Theatre admissions in India have fallen 45 percent since their 2018 peak of 1.58 billion, according to Ernst and Young, as streaming services offer content that complements cheap mobile data available to most Indians.
Even global hits like the latest Avatar film struggled to secure screens due to “Dhurandhar’s” strong showing, analysts said.
