Pakistan-Afghan main border reopens after deadly clashes

Pakistan reopened a main border crossing with Afghanistan that was closed earlier this week following clashes between the two sides over Pakistan’s construction of a gate to curb illegal cross-border movement, two security officials said Saturday.

The clash, which erupted along the Torkham border a week ago, left at least three Afghan policemen and a Pakistani military officer dead, with dozens wounded.
“The Torkham border reopened around 6 this morning after around five days of closure,” Mohammad Ayub Hussain Khil, border police chief in eastern Afghanistan, told AFP.
All those carrying valid travel documents were now being allowed to cross Torkham border, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Thousands of people have been stranded on both sides due to the border closure on Sunday, when Pakistan and Afghanistan began trading fire and two Afghan border guards and one Pakistani army officer were killed. The reopening is likely to ease tensions between the two countries, who have accused each other of initiating the violence.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said an Afghan delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai will arrive in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the Torkham crossing and other border management issues. In a statement, it said the visit will take place at the invitation of Sartaj Aziz, the foreign affairs adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister.

Source : Arab News