LANDI KOTAL:
The Torkham border crossing, a vital conduit for trade and human traffic between Pakistan and Afghanistan, reopened on Friday after an eight-day suspension.
Vehicular and foot traffic resumed as tensions subsided between the Pakistan Army and Afghan forces over the construction of an “illegal” checkpost by the latter.
Border officials confirmed that vehicles are being allowed to move across the neighboring countries after clearance, reported Express News.
People stranded on either side of the border during the eight-day suspension were also permitted to crossover after strict inspection.
Stringent security measures have been set in place before allowing entry, according to border officials.
Afghanistan is a landlocked country and relies on a transit trade agreement with Pakistan to do business with the outside world.
Read: Pakistan accuses Afghanistan for ‘misusing’ transit trade facility
Sources told The Express Tribune that Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had a key role to play in the reopening of the crossing point between the two countries.
Reopening of the Torkham border was conditioned by Islamabad with the withdrawal of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Chitral, according to sources privy to the development.
On September 6, 2023, the same day that the border was closed and a gun battle ensued between Pakistan and Afghan forces, at least four soldiers were martyred and 12 TTP terrorists were killed in clashes in Chitral.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said a large group of “terrorists equipped with the latest weapons” attacked two military check posts in the Chitral district in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in an “intense exchange of fire”.
The military’s media wing said the attacks were coordinated from the Kunar and Nuristan provinces of neighbouring Afghanistan and a combing operation was underway.
Read more: Torkham border shuts after Pakistan-Afghanistan skirmish
“Owing to heightened threat environment, Pakistan’s own posts were already on high alert,” it said, adding that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan is “expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan”.
The sources said after the intervention of the Kabul regime, the TTP had completely withdrawn from the border areas while Islamabad sought assurances that such attacks would not happen in the future.
Source link: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2435990/torkham-border-reopens-for-traffic-after-eight-day-closure