Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that Afghanistan government has apologized for the unprovoked firing and shelling in Chaman which resulted in the martyrdom of seven civilians.

On Sunday at least seven people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries after the Afghan Border Forces opened unprovoked and indiscriminate fire of heavy weapons onto the civilian population

The ISPR said that Pakistan has also approached Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight the severity of the situation and demanded strict action to obviate any such recurrence of the incident in the future.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign office condemned the Afghan shelling saying that such unfortunate incidents were not in keeping with the brotherly ties between the two countries.

Afghan security sources said the clash started after Pakistani forces demanded Afghan forces stop building a new checkpost on their side of the border, Reuters reported.

Following the incident, the Chaman border crossing was closed for trade and cross-border movement of people but was later reopened after successful negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces.

Afghan official Noor Ahmad, in Kandahar, the province on the Afghan side of the border, told Reuters the incident was accidental and the situation had returned to normal after the two sides had a meeting.

Meanwhile, Kandahar police spokesman Hafiz Saber told Reuters that one Afghan soldier was killed and 10 other people, including three civilians, were injured.

Khawaja Asif, while addressing the National Assembly today, said that during a border security committee meeting, the Afghan side accepted their mistake and assured that such an incident will not occur again.

The defense minister said Pakistan is a well-wisher of Afghanistan and desires resolution of their internal matters. He said Pakistan will continue to extend cooperation for peace and stability in Afghanistan saying this would open vistas of economic and trade cooperation in the region.

He said the Afghan side welcomed the recent visit of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to Kabul for talks.