Four killed, 19 injured in violent clashes at Chaman border

CHAMAN: Four people were killed and at least 19 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Chaman on Thursday, officials said.

According to Levies officials, hundreds of protesters belonging to the All Parties Traders Union had been staging a demonstration at Friendship Gate against the border's closure for the past two months.

The protesters, on Thursday, forcibly removed the barricades placed in the area surrounding the gate and attempted to cross the border. Furthermore, they allegedly set fire to computers at a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office for border management, about a 100 containers belonging to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as well as tents and offices at a quarantine centre nearby. Security forces fired aerial shots to disperse the protesters. Additional troops of the Frontier Corps and Levies were also summoned to quell the protest.