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| Clash on Pakistan Border Stirs Afghan Emotions | Clash on Pakistan Border Stirs Afghan Emotions |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan forces claimed on Thursday that they had overrun and destroyed a Pakistani-held border crossing in a remote area, an event that provoked a spontaneous outpouring of nationalist sentiment here, sending thousands of students into the streets to demonstrate and setting off lively debate on social network sites. | KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan forces claimed on Thursday that they had overrun and destroyed a Pakistani-held border crossing in a remote area, an event that provoked a spontaneous outpouring of nationalist sentiment here, sending thousands of students into the streets to demonstrate and setting off lively debate on social network sites. |
| A funeral for Qasim Khan, an Afghan border policeman who was the only confirmed victim of the clash, turned into a patriotic rally. An ambulance pressed into service as a hearse to carry Mr. Khan’s body from Jalalabad to his home village in rural Nangarhar Province was strewn with flowers, and mourners declared a victory over Pakistan. Nearly 200 miles away in Gardez, a city in Paktia Province, Mr. Khan was hailed as a national hero by marching crowds of students who beat drums and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans. | A funeral for Qasim Khan, an Afghan border policeman who was the only confirmed victim of the clash, turned into a patriotic rally. An ambulance pressed into service as a hearse to carry Mr. Khan’s body from Jalalabad to his home village in rural Nangarhar Province was strewn with flowers, and mourners declared a victory over Pakistan. Nearly 200 miles away in Gardez, a city in Paktia Province, Mr. Khan was hailed as a national hero by marching crowds of students who beat drums and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans. |
| A Facebook page was started by Afghan supporters to campaign for Mr. Khan to be posthumously awarded the rank of general. | A Facebook page was started by Afghan supporters to campaign for Mr. Khan to be posthumously awarded the rank of general. |
| A spokesman for the Afghan Border Police unit in eastern Nangarhar Province said troops from the unit burned the post at the border crossing in fighting that began Wednesday night and finished early Thursday morning. They also took back five Afghan police posts that had been occupied by Pakistani forces, he said. Afghan officials have said Pakistan built the crossing without Afghan approval, and it was one of several that President Hamid Karzai had publicly complained about last month. | A spokesman for the Afghan Border Police unit in eastern Nangarhar Province said troops from the unit burned the post at the border crossing in fighting that began Wednesday night and finished early Thursday morning. They also took back five Afghan police posts that had been occupied by Pakistani forces, he said. Afghan officials have said Pakistan built the crossing without Afghan approval, and it was one of several that President Hamid Karzai had publicly complained about last month. |
| The border police spokesman, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with his agency’s policy, said there were unconfirmed reports that nine Pakistani militiamen had been killed in the clash, with took place in the Goshta district. | The border police spokesman, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with his agency’s policy, said there were unconfirmed reports that nine Pakistani militiamen had been killed in the clash, with took place in the Goshta district. |
| However, Pakistani government officials said only two of their frontier constabulary officers were wounded in what a Foreign Ministry statement described as an “unprovoked firing incident” started by the Afghans, to which the Pakistani side reacted with “maximum restraint.” An Afghan member of Parliament from the Goshta district, Friadon Momand, said he had heard that the border crossing had not been destroyed and was still operating. | However, Pakistani government officials said only two of their frontier constabulary officers were wounded in what a Foreign Ministry statement described as an “unprovoked firing incident” started by the Afghans, to which the Pakistani side reacted with “maximum restraint.” An Afghan member of Parliament from the Goshta district, Friadon Momand, said he had heard that the border crossing had not been destroyed and was still operating. |
| “We are not the aggressors, they are the ones provoking and fanning these clashes,” said Maj. Gen. Gul Nabi Ahmadzia, the Afghan Border Police commander in charge of the operation. “While we are waiting for our politicians to take action and decide what to do, we showed that Afghans are not incapable of protecting their country.” | “We are not the aggressors, they are the ones provoking and fanning these clashes,” said Maj. Gen. Gul Nabi Ahmadzia, the Afghan Border Police commander in charge of the operation. “While we are waiting for our politicians to take action and decide what to do, we showed that Afghans are not incapable of protecting their country.” |
| Whoever was to blame, the operation aroused an unusual degree of reaction, especially among young Afghans, in contrast to their apathy over actions by their army and police forces in clashes with Afghan insurgents. | Whoever was to blame, the operation aroused an unusual degree of reaction, especially among young Afghans, in contrast to their apathy over actions by their army and police forces in clashes with Afghan insurgents. |
| “An Afghan Border Police officer died last night fighting Pakistanis,” read a Facebook post attributed to Sohrab Sharifi. “Afghans enraged and showed emotions. But now eight Afghan local policemen killed by (Sons of Pakistan) Taliban, all will remain silent.” | “An Afghan Border Police officer died last night fighting Pakistanis,” read a Facebook post attributed to Sohrab Sharifi. “Afghans enraged and showed emotions. But now eight Afghan local policemen killed by (Sons of Pakistan) Taliban, all will remain silent.” |
| Mr. Sharifi was referring to reports that eight Afghan Local Police officers were killed on Thursday morning by a roadside bomb that blew up as their truck passed by in the village of Pashtunabad in Logar Province. | Mr. Sharifi was referring to reports that eight Afghan Local Police officers were killed on Thursday morning by a roadside bomb that blew up as their truck passed by in the village of Pashtunabad in Logar Province. |
| Abdul Wali Wakil, the chairman of the Logar Provincial Council, said the officers had just graduated from a training program run by American Special Forces soldiers and had just been brought by the Americans to their assignment in the area. | Abdul Wali Wakil, the chairman of the Logar Provincial Council, said the officers had just graduated from a training program run by American Special Forces soldiers and had just been brought by the Americans to their assignment in the area. |
| “I have personally warned the provincial governor and provincial police chief about the potential threat in the area, but they ignored my advice,” he said. | “I have personally warned the provincial governor and provincial police chief about the potential threat in the area, but they ignored my advice,” he said. |
| The governor of Logar, Arsala Jamal, said the area of that attack was normally under full government control. “However, there are some individuals who are creating some minor problems for us every now and then,” he said. | The governor of Logar, Arsala Jamal, said the area of that attack was normally under full government control. “However, there are some individuals who are creating some minor problems for us every now and then,” he said. |
| In an unrelated episode in western Afghanistan, another Afghan Local Police unit was attacked by the Taliban, and 18 policemen were captured and taken prisoner in the Ghormach district of Faryab Province, according to Ajmal Wardak, the deputy commander of the 209th Afghan National Army Corps, which is responsible for the area. | In an unrelated episode in western Afghanistan, another Afghan Local Police unit was attacked by the Taliban, and 18 policemen were captured and taken prisoner in the Ghormach district of Faryab Province, according to Ajmal Wardak, the deputy commander of the 209th Afghan National Army Corps, which is responsible for the area. |
| The attack took place Tuesday but was not reported until Thursday. Another official in Faryab, Rahmatullah Turkistani, head of the provincial council, said he understood that 40 local policemen had been captured by the insurgents. | The attack took place Tuesday but was not reported until Thursday. Another official in Faryab, Rahmatullah Turkistani, head of the provincial council, said he understood that 40 local policemen had been captured by the insurgents. |
| The border clash in Nangarhar Province comes after months of complaints by Afghan authorities about cross-border shelling and control of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In addition, Afghan political leaders, including Mr. Karzai, have greatly stepped up their anti-Pakistan rhetoric lately, blaming their neighbor for supporting insurgents and hindering efforts at peace talks. | The border clash in Nangarhar Province comes after months of complaints by Afghan authorities about cross-border shelling and control of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In addition, Afghan political leaders, including Mr. Karzai, have greatly stepped up their anti-Pakistan rhetoric lately, blaming their neighbor for supporting insurgents and hindering efforts at peace talks. |
| On Facebook and Twitter, many Afghans called for further demonstrations after Friday Prayer. | On Facebook and Twitter, many Afghans called for further demonstrations after Friday Prayer. |
| The border clash came a day after the reopening of the major crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, at Torkham on the Grand Trunk Road between Kabul and Peshawar. It had been closed for two days after a fistfight between Afghan and Pakistani border guards over the Pakistanis’ refusal to let an Afghan woman enter without a visa. | |
| Pakistan closed the crossing for two days until the Afghans apologized. According to Col. Enayatullah Abdullah, an Afghan Border Police official at Torkham, four Afghan patients died waiting at the crossing to go to hospitals in Pakistan. | |
| President Karzai has repeatedly raised the long-festering issue of the Durand Line, which forms the border between the two countries and was established by the British in the early 1900s. The line divides traditionally Pashtun tribal areas on both sides of the border; Pashtuns are Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, and they predominate among the Taliban insurgents. | President Karzai has repeatedly raised the long-festering issue of the Durand Line, which forms the border between the two countries and was established by the British in the early 1900s. The line divides traditionally Pashtun tribal areas on both sides of the border; Pashtuns are Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, and they predominate among the Taliban insurgents. |
Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting from Kabul; an Afghan employee of The New York Times from Jalalabad, Afghanistan; and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan. | Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting from Kabul; an Afghan employee of The New York Times from Jalalabad, Afghanistan; and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan. |