The Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal condemned the burning of the Pakistani flag by certain individuals at the Friendship Gate located along the Durand Line in Chaman.
“Five days ago some individuals in Speen Boldak/Chaman disrespected and burnt Pakistani flag, as a result the gate has since been closed causing enormous difficulties to people on both sides including considerable costs to traders whose goods, mostly fresh fruit, has been stuck at the gate,” Zakhilwal said in a statement.
Zakhilwal further added “Whoever burnt the flag was certainly representing neither the government nor the people of Afghanistan.”
“No matter what their reasons for burning the flag, it was a condemnable act,” he said, adding that “We the Afghan government neither believe nor condone this type of disrespect towards the people of Pakistan – in fact, to the very contrary.”
This comes as tensions intensified between the two neighboring countries on several occassions during the past recent months, mainly due to the establishment of gates and other installations.
The Afghan and Pakistani forces exchanged fire in Torkham earlier in June which resulted in to the closure of the gate for several days.
Both the Afghan and Pakistani forces suffered casualties during the clashes that erupted due to the construction of a gate by Pakistan which the Afghan officials called a unilateral move and against a bilateral agreement between the two nations.
