On Wednesday, three Afghan journalists suffered injuries due to shelling from Pakistan while they were on assignment covering the closure of a critical border crossing, as reported by a Taliban representative.
The Torkham crossing, pivotal for both trade and travel between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been shut since February 21st amid a disagreement between the neighboring nations. Historically, the crossing has seen frequent closures, typically following violent incidents. It is strategically located in Pakistan’s northwest and Afghanistan’s east.
Hedayat Shah Hedayat, a journalist with Shamshad TV, along with two colleagues, traveled to Torkham to document the ongoing tensions when they were injured by cross-border fire from the Pakistani side, according to Shamshad TV’s deputy director, Mahir Ihsanzai.
A local official, Qureshi Badloon, confirmed the involvement of Pakistani troops in the incident.
“The journalists were struck by mortar shells fired by Pakistani soldiers,” stated Badloon, an official with the Nangarhar Information and Culture Department.
Badloon named the other injured journalists as Wali Mohammad Shinwari, a cameraman for Pajhwok Afghan News, and Azizul Hassan Nomani, a journalist with Hurriyat Radio.
Both Shinwari and Nomani sustained serious injuries and were transported to the Nangarhar Regional Hospital for urgent medical care.
There has yet to be an official response from the Pakistani government regarding this incident.
