Thousands of Afghans protested outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul May 16, chanting "Death to Pakistan, Death to Musharraf!" The rally comes days after the bloodiest clash in decades on the disputed border between the two countries. Pakistani forces crossed into Afghan territory and killed 13 people, including children and police, in two days of clashes over the weekend, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry. Many of the protesters come from Paktia, the southeastern province where the clashes took place.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement May 15 urging "Pakistan to prevent such action that would entail dangerous consequences for the stability of the region." Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta—who was removed from office by parliament at the weekend but is still working until a court ruling—also sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to protest "the attacks of Pakistani forces."
Pakistan said the clashes began when Afghan troops, without provocation, fired on a Pakistani border posts in the Kurram tribal district. (Reuters [2], May 16)
See our last post on Afghanistan and Pakistan [3].
