At least 13 people were killed and more than 80 others wounded in clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces near the Chaman border crossing, officials said May 5.
The Afghan Border Police opened fire on soldiers accompanying a census team, a Pakistani military statement read.
"Since 30th April, Afghan Border Police had been creating hurdles in conduct of census in divided villages of Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir in Chaman area on Pakistani side of the border," the statement added.
On the Pakistani side, Naseem Ullah, a doctor at a hospital in Killa Abdullah, told dpa news agency that nine civilians were killed in shelling. He said more than 45 people, including 12 children and six security personnel, were wounded.
Media reports in Afghanistan citing a police chief said four Afghan security personnel were killed and 14 police and at least 23 civilians wounded.
Both sides blamed each other for having started the fighting that began in the early morning near the crossing in southwestern Pakistan and southern Afghanistan.
The fighting along the Chaman border subsided by the end of the day on May 5.
Zia Durani, a spokesman for the police chief in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, blamed Pakistan for initiating the shooting, saying Pakistan wants to use cover of data collection to help militants sneak into Afghanistan.
Another spokesman, Ghurzang Afridi, said the Pakistani census team had worked on the Afghan side of the border.
Based on reporting by dpa, AP, and dawn.com
