PESHAWAR: Pakistan reopened its busiest border crossing with Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon, following a brief closure after two mortar shells were fired into its territory in the morning, the Foreign Office confirmed, adding that the attack did not result in any casualties.
“Today in the early hours, two rockets were fired by terrorists from the Afghan territory, which landed near Torkham Border Terminal on the Pakistan side,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Wednesday evening, adding that the Torkham crossing-point was then closed to ensure safety and that “the Pakistan side immediately contacted Afghan authorities and conveyed serious concerns over the incident.”
“The routine border terminal operations resumed in the afternoon,” the statement read.
The rockets hit the ground near the parking area for trucks at the Torkham border crossing, Mazhar Afridi, a police officer, told Arab News. “They did not cause any losses. A truck was partially damaged, and the Pakistani authorities decided to shut the border temporarily in the wake of the incident,” he said
The development may further deteriorate relations between the two estranged neighbors. Only a day before, Pakistan condemned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s tweets wherein he criticized the arrest of Manzoor Pashteen, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, and urged “governments in the region” to “support and encourage peaceful civilian movements for justice.”
Nasib Shah, a local at the Torkham bazaar, told Arab News the mortar shells hit a nearby hillside, exploding with a big bang and damaging a truck partially.
“It was a huge explosion, making people panic and run. Soon after the blast, security officials rushed to the site, cordoning off the area and closing the gate for traffic,” he added.
“We demand the authorities on both sides to maintain maximum restraint because the closure of the border even for a single hour inflicts unspeakable losses on the business community of the two countries,” President of All Torkham Clearing Agents Association Zarqeeb Shinwari said.
