File photo of Khawaja Asif. Farooq Naeem—AFP
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday said the government had decided to reopen the Chaman border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan after Kabul apologized for a firing incident that killed six Pakistani nationals and injured 17 others.
On Sunday, Afghan border forces opened fire on civilian areas in Balochistan’s Chaman, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations, triggering retaliatory response from Pakistani troops. The incident drew much outrage, with the Foreign Office saying that Afghanistan had been urged to ensure that the culprits were punished.
Speaking with journalists after a session of the National Assembly, Asif recalled that Afghan troops had opened fire on civilians Pakistan’s security forces had targeted a checkpost in retaliation. He said a committee of border security forces has been formed to prevent similar incidents from occurring in future. To a question, the minister said the government had no plans to reopen negotiations with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has ramped up attacks on security forces nationwide after unilaterally ending a ceasefire agreed upon last year.
Defending Khar
Also on Monday, women lawmakers came to the defense of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar after Jamaat-e-Islami MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticized her recent Afghanistan visit, saying it had not had much impact on ties between the neighboring states. Noting that Pakistan’s consulate in Afghanistan was attacked by terrorists after Khar’s visit, he suggested sending a different delegation to Kabul to investigate the causes of cross-border violence.
Condemning Chitrali’s comments, Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Minister Shazia Marri said Khar’s visit to Afghanistan had sent a positive message to the entire world, as it saw a woman negotiating with the Taliban despite all the restrictions they had imposed on the country’s women. Similarly, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman urged Chitrali to respect the ideology of other political parties instead of imposing his personal ideas on others. Citing the example of Benazir Bhutto, she recalled it was a great honor for Pakistan to elect the first woman prime minister of the Muslim world, adding it had bene rightly praised globally. “We, being the coalition partners, are on one page and Khar’s visit to Afghanistan has projected the soft image of Pakistan,” she added.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also took the floor, urging all parliamentarians to acknowledge the competency of women ministers appointed on merit. Maintaining that she respected Chitrali, she urged him to likewise respect his fellow women parliamentarians. Summarizing the accomplishments of Pakistan’s many women leaders, she said women had sacrificed to strengthen democracy in the country and were all the pride of Pakistan.
Khar was the sole woman minister representing a state at the recent Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference, said the minister, stressing this had been a great honor for Pakistan.
Following the censures, Chitrali offered an apology for his remarks about Khar, adding that his comments were taken negatively even though his aim was different. Claiming he was not against any woman minister, he said he wanted to convey that the government should have included some tribal elders in the Khar-led delegation that visited Afghanistan.