The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul dismisses reports of an elderly Afghan man attempting suicide by running himself under a trailer tire after Pakistani border guards refused him entry into Afghanistan.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, the man in question was a Pakistani national and the father of Pakistani journalist Ali Shinwari.
Sources from inside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul informed the Khaama Press News Agency that the elderly man who committed suicide at the Torkham border in eastern Afghanistan was a Pakistani national.
The statement issued by the embassy of Pakistan after extending its condolences stated that “We (the embassy) have learnt that unfortunately father of a Pakistani media reporter came under a trailer at Torkham border today.”
The Pakistani journalist, Ali Shinwari, also confirmed to the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan that the man at the Torkham border was his father and had killed himself as a result of mental illness.
Earlier today, reports and videos of a man running into a car after Pakistani authorities demanded payment for allowing him entry into Afghanistan but he was unable to pay were widely circulated.
Some media outlets identified the man as an Afghan national while others relied on sources contending that the man’s visa had expired.
The Taliban officials have not yet commented on the incident, despite a statement from the Pakistani embassy confirming the man’s identity.
