At least six people have been killed and 24 others injured in clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces near the Chaman border crossing, officials say.
The Afghan Border Police opened fire on soldiers accompanying a census team, a Pakistani military statement read on May 5.
"Since April 30, Afghan Border Police had been creating hurdles in conduct of census in divided villages of Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir in Charnan area on Pakistani side of the border," the statement adds.
Three Afghan border-police personnel were also injured in the clash, Afghan officials said.
Both sides blamed each other for having started the fighting that began in the early morning hours near the crossing in southwestern Pakistan and southern Afghanistan.
Firing still continues on the Chaman border, an RFE/RL correspondent reports.
A spokesman for the police chief in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province blamed Pakistan for initiating the shooting. Pakistan wants to use the cover of data collection to help militants sneak into Afghanistan, Zia Durani said.
Another spokesman, Ghurzang Afridi, said the Pakistani census team had worked on the Afghan side of the border.
With reporting by dpa, AP, and Dawn
