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Friday, November 22, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Afghan-Pakistan border crossing reopens over a week after fighting

The closing of border resulted in long queues of traders while traders complained that trade was affected
People wait on the roadside in Landikotal after the Torkham border was closed due to an exchange of gunfire between Afghan and Pakistani forces on Wednesday. PPI
People wait on the roadside in Landikotal after the Torkham border was closed due to an exchange of gunfire between Afghan and Pakistani forces on Wednesday. PPI

The Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan reopened to pedestrians and vehicles early Friday, a senior official told AFP, more than a week after it was closed following a gun battle between frontier guards.

“The clearance of trucks is in process and Afghan citizens are entering Afghanistan after clearance and passing immigration processes,” Irshad Khan Mohmamd, assistant commissioner of Khyber district in Pakistan, told AFP.

Islamabad and Kabul have been in diplomatic deadlock since border guards opened fire at the Torkham crossing on September 6, halfway between the two capitals, in a dispute over an under-construction Afghan outpost.

Each blamed the other for firing the first salvo last Wednesday, souring already poor relations between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.

Read: Afghan-Pakistan crossing at a standstill a week after gunfight

The crossing is the busiest for trade and people between the two nations, which share a porous 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier that cuts through rugged mountains and valleys.

Traders on both sides complained that tonnes of perishable goods were lost because of the border closure, while Afghan travellers missed vital hospital appointments or flights out of Pakistan.

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Torkham Border

Torkham Crossing