Pakistani mortar fire injures Afghan journalists covering closure of key border crossing

Taliban fighters patrol near the closed Torkham border with Pakistan. (Image: AP)

Shelling from Pakistan injured three Afghan journalists on Wednesday while they were reporting on the closure of a key border crossing, a Taliban official said.

Torkham has been closed since Feb. 21 because of a dispute between the two neighbors. It is vital for trade and travel, but both countries have closed it in the past, most often over deadly shootings and fire. It lies in Pakistan’s northwest and Afghanistan’s east.

Shamshad TV reporter Hedayat Shah Hedayat and two other journalists went to Torkham to cover the ongoing clashes when they were hit by the Pakistani side, the station’s deputy director Mahir Ihsanzai said.

A local official, Qureshi Badloon, confirmed the shootings.

“These journalists were hit and injured by mortar shells fired by Pakistani soldiers,” said Badloon, who works at the Nangarhar Information and Culture Department.

He identified the other journalists as Pajhwok Afghan News cameraman Wali Mohammad Shinwari and Hurriyat Radio journalist Azizul Hassan Nomani.

Shinwari and Nomani were in serious condition and taken to Nangarhar Regional Hospital.

There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government.