Conflicts & War

Main Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing reopens after 9-day closure

Islamabad, Sep 15 (EFE).- The Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan reopened on Friday after a nine-day closure following a series of talks between the authorities of both countries, an official said.

“Today at 8 am the border gate was reopened for pedestrians and at 9 am for trade transport,” Turab Khan, a police official at the Landi Kotal police station told EFE on Friday.

The official said that a series of talks had been held between the authorities of both countries during the past few days but declined to offer details on what was agreed upon during the talks.

Thousands of people and hundreds of trucks carrying goods had lined up on both sides of the border to cross over.

“As the gate reopened people rushed to cross over as they had been waiting for many days now,” the police official added.

He said that those gathered at the crossing had also staged protests on Thursday, demanding that it be reopened.

Torkham, the main border crossing point between the two countries, was shut on Sep. 6 after security forces of both sides exchanged gunfire.

Pakistan claimed that the Taliban government had tried to build a check post on its territory, calling it an “unlawful structure” and accused Afghan forces of “unprovoked firing.”

On Monday, in response to an offer from Afghanistan, Pakistan said that it was ready to resolve all issues and concerns with its landlocked neighbor through constructive dialogue.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s envoy to Afghanistan, Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani met the Taliban administration’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul.

Both discussed Torkham gate closure and the arrest of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Afghanistan’s state-run Bakhtar news agency reported.

The Torkham border crossing has been shut in the past as well due to a variety of reasons. EFE

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