KHYBER
Afghan elders refused to collect the body of an Afghan citizen,lying in the Pakistan side of Torkham border on Thursday ,killed in an ongoing arms battle between the two neighbouring countries.
Earlier,a joint delegation of political and tribal elders from both countries arrived at the Torkham border to collect bodies lying in the conflict zone under an open sky for the last few days.
It is to be stated here that after it went viral on social media that a body was lying in the conflict zone at Torkham,elites of the both countries appealed to the Pak-Afghan authorities to allow them to collect the bodies.
After approval of the both countries, the tribal elders of the both countries were permitted to approach the zero line and retrieve the corpses.
As per the delegation members, a temporary ceasefire was observed until 5:30 pm on Thursday to permit them to safely collect the body.
The delegation members said the body was examined and the Afghan delegation identified him as an Afghan citizen,who was a cart pusher in Torkham.
However the Afghan delegation members refused to retrieve the body and both delegation members returned back,an elder said.
The Pakistani delegation included tehsil Chairman Shah Khalid, Malik Tajuddin Shinwari, Murad Hussain, Mufti Muhammad Ejaz, Saeed Khan, Qari Nazeem Gul, Maulana Aqib, Qari Jehad Shah, and other local elders while holding white flags headed towards the border.
In the same way, the Afghan side was represented by Malik Haji Mastyar Shinwari, Malik Mullah Khan Shinwari, Rais Gul Majid Shinwari, Malik Wali Khan Shinwari, Malik Gul Rahman Shinwari, Qari Baseer Shinwari, Engineer Mutabar Khan Shinwari, Mufti Asadullah Shinwari, Malik Darya Khan Mohmand, Malik Shazar Mohmand, and Malik Helmand Mohmand.
Local elders said the step was taken purely on humanitarian grounds, emphasizing that even during conflicts there are rules and principles that must be respected.
Retrieving the body and ensuring proper burial rites was a fundamental human right, they added.
It is worth mentioning that tension has persisted at the Pak-Afghan sharing border, Torkham, for the last 13 days, with continued exchange of fire reported from both sides.
The cross-border firing has also affected nearby civilian areas of Tehsil Landi Kotal in addition to leaving several people injured and causing partial damage to dozens of houses.
