Pakistan Army grants refuge, safe passage to two groups of Afghan soldiers at Chitral border: ISPR

Forty-six soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Border Police were granted "refuge and safe passage" by the Pakistan Army on Sunday, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

Another group of Afghan military personnel have been given refuge by the Pakistan Army after the Afghans were 'unable to hold their military posts' on the Pak-Afghan border due to the evolving security situation, said a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During recent weeks of fighting, the 300,000 strong Afghan security forces have lost many districts to the Taliban's offensive, with security forces often surrendering without a fight. The Taliban have seized most of the landlocked country's international border crossings.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier that the Afghan security forces' first job was to make sure they could slow the Taliban's momentum before attempting to retake territory, as Afghan forces plan to consolidate forces around strategically important parts of the country.

“Afghan National Army (ANA) local commander, opposite Arundu Sector, Chitral requested Pakistan Army for refuge and safe passage for 46 soldiers of Afghan National Army and Border Police including 5 officers,” said the ISPR on Monday.

The ISPR added that the Pakistan Army contacted Afghan authorities for information and necessary formalities after which the soldiers and officers were given refuge and safe passage into Pakistan

“Afghan soldiers have been provided food, shelter and necessary medical care as per established military norm,” the military’s media wing stated, adding that the military personnel would be returned to Afghan authorities in a dignified manner after due process.

Previously on July 1, at least 35 Afghan soldiers also requested the Pakistan Army for refuge due to the inability to hold their military post along the international border.

They were also given safe passage into Pakistan and handed over to Afghan government authorities after the due procedure,.

Taliban are gaining control of more and more territory, which the Pentagon estimated earlier now extends to over half of half Afghanistan's district centres. The Taliban are also putting pressure on the outskirts of half of the provincial capitals, trying to isolate them.

The Taliban's swift territorial gains are rattling Afghans just as the United States withdraws from a war that succeeded in punishing al Qaeda following its Sept 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington but failed to deliver anything close to peace for Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Afghan government said the Taliban's claim of holding 90 per cent of Afghanistan's border was an "absolute lie" with the defence ministry insisting that government forces were in control of the country's frontiers.

The United States has continued to carry out air strikes to support Afghan government forces that have been under pressure from the Taliban as US-led foreign forces carry out the final stages of their withdrawal from the country.

Biden has promised to provide financial assistance to Afghan forces and to redouble diplomatic efforts to revive stalled peace talks and also authorised up to $100 million from an emergency fund to meet "unexpected urgent" refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa applicants.

For years, the US military has been trying to get Afghan troops off of far-flung checkpoints - static positions that can easily be overrun by Taliban forces.

The statement said that a local ANA commander opposite Arundu, Chitral, had requested help for the 46 soldiers — including five officers — as "they were unable to hold their military posts along [the] Pak-Afghan International Border due to [the] evolving security situation in Afghanistan."

The Pakistan Army contacted Afghan authorities for the relevant information and necessary formalities, the statement added.

"These Afghan soldiers arrived at Arundu sector, Chitral late last night. After contact with Afghan authorities and necessary military procedures, 46 soldiers including five officers have been given refuge [and] safe passage into Pakistan."Afghan soldiers have been provided food, shelter and necessary medical care as per established military norms," the ISPR statement said.

It added that the soldiers and officers would be returned to the Afghan government in a "dignified manner after due process".

Mentioning a similar incident, the ISPR statement said 35 Afghan soldiers who had asked for refuge on July 1 had also been "given safe passage into Pakistan and handed over to Afghan govt authorities after due procedure".

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had previously told Dawn that Pakistan has moved the Frontier Constabulary, Levies Force and other militias from the front line positions along the Pak-Afghan border as the army has started to man those positions.

“Now regular army troops are manning the border after replacing the paramilitary forces,” the minister said, adding the decision had been made in wake of the volatile situation across the border. "The current volatile situation (in Afghanistan) demands that regular military troops be deployed along the border," he had said.

Earlier in July, more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the border into Tajikistan following Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban had taken over six key districts in the northern province of Badakshan, which borders both Tajikistan and China, following which 1,037 Afghan servicemen fled across the border with Tajikistan's permission.

Insecurity has been growing in Afghanistan in recent weeks as US-led foreign troops complete their withdrawal and the Taliban launch major offensives, taking districts and border crossings.

The Taliban and Afghan government officials met for talks in Qatari capital Doha on July 17. The meeting ended with promises of more talks, as well as greater attention to the protection of civilians and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, fighting between government forces and the Taliban rages on, with the militant group claiming to have taken control of a large majority of the country.