Karzai blames Pak for border shelling

Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused Pakistan of firing 470 rockets into eastern Afghanistan over the past three weeks in an escalation of fighting across the porous border.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused Pakistan late Sunday of firing 470 rockets into eastern Afghanistan over the past three weeks in an escalation of fighting across the porous border.

Pakistan on Monday denied accusations by Afghanistan that it fired hundreds of rockets into two eastern Afghan provinces over the past three weeks,killing 36 people,including 12 children.

Pakistani army spokesman Maj Athar Abbas said no rounds have been intentionally fired into Afghanistan. He said it is possible that a few rounds may have accidentally fallen into Afghanistan when security forces targeted militants carrying out cross-border attacks.

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The back-and-forth accusations have further strained the troubled relationship between the two countries and could hamper talks between Pakistan,Afghanistan and the US in Kabul on Tuesday. The meeting is meant to focus on reconciliation talks with Taliban militants fighting in Afghanistan.

The Afghan government has repeatedly criticised Pakistan for not targeting Afghan Taliban militants who use its territory to launch cross-border attacks,an accusation echoed by the US and other NATO countries. Pakistan has recently reversed this criticism,saying Afghan and NATO forces have not done enough to target the Pakistani Taliban who have established sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are using them to attack Pakistan.