ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday announced the shutdown of border crossings with its western neighbors, Iran and Afghanistan, for one day, tomorrow, to ensure peaceful general elections amid mounting security concerns following two consecutive bomb blasts in the southwest that killed 27 people earlier today.
Pakistani security forces have launched several intelligence-based operations against militant hideouts in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to prevent attacks on uniformed personnel and campaigning politicians.
Most of these incidents occurred near Iran and Afghanistan, though security was also enhanced in other areas of Pakistan ahead of the national polls.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s election commission discussed the issue in an assessment meeting before confirming that the general elections would proceed as scheduled on Feb. 8.
“To ensure full security during the general elections to be held in Pakistan on 8 Feb 2024, border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran, would remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians,” the country’s foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, announced in a statement.
“Normal operations would resume on 9 Feb 2024,” she added.
Pakistani officials have previously attributed several militant attacks to the banned armed network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leadership is believed to be based in Afghanistan.
In recent actions, the country’s military also launched missile strikes against the hideouts of Baloch separatist groups in Iran, accused of inciting violence in Balochistan.
Pakistan to close border with Iran, Afghanistan to ensure peaceful elections amid militant attacks
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Pakistan to close border with Iran, Afghanistan to ensure peaceful elections amid militant attacks
- The country’s foreign office says the border closure on Feb. 8 will affect both cargo and pedestrians
- Pakistan plans to resume normal border operations a day after securing peaceful general elections
