https://arab.news/bkwwz
- Torkham crossing shut last week after Pakistani and Afghan forces fired at each other
- All trade and movement of citizens has come to a halt since the crossing was closed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the closure of a key border crossing with Afghanistan was “temporary” and a decision on reopening it would be made in the “coming days.”
The busy border crossing at Torkham was closed last Wednesday after Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces started firing at each other. The dispute is reportedly over an under-construction Afghan outpost.
The Torkham border point is the main point of transit for travelers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. All trade and movement of citizens has come to a halt since the crossing was closed.
In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch expressed concern over what she called security threats originating from Afghanistan. Islamabad says insurgents, particularly from the Pakistani Taliban, have found sanctuaries and have even been living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, which emboldened them.
“With regard to the opening of the border, I must underline that the closure of the border is temporary,” Baloch said. “We will make these decisions with regard to opening in view of the developments that take place in the coming hours and days.”
The spokesperson also expressed concern about the “misuse” of the transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, without providing further details on the issue.
“It is important for our customs authorities to ensure that any border trade that takes place complies with the understandings and agreements that exist between Pakistan and Afghanistan [and] this trade does not contravene Pakistani laws,” Baloch said.
Later, Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani, Pakistan’s charge d’affaires for Afghanistan called on Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss bilateral issues.
“During the meeting, both the dignitaries discussed various issues including, the Torkham border issue, the arrest of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and the Afghan businessmen in Karachi,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesperson of Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, wrote on social media platform X.
Both sides stressed measures should be taken as soon as possible to resolve all issues and to prevent such incidents from happening in future, Ahmad wrote.
Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbors for decades.