Islamabad, Sept. 15, (dpa/GNA) – A major border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was reopened on Friday after more than a week of closure following deadly clashes.
Thousands of people and trade lorries were allowed to roll ahead after being stuck at the Torkham border crossing for 10 days, said Mohamed Idrees of the Khyber Rifles border force.
Torkham, one of the two major border crossings between the uneasy neighbours, was closed on September 6 after an exchange of fire between the two countries’ troops.
A deadly raid by Islamist militants on Pakistani border troops on the same day aggravated tensions.
Islamabad said militants from the Pakistani Taliban, a group different from the Afghan ruling militia, were launching attacks from hideouts in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation.
The border reopening comes after Afghan Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi assured Islamabad the militants would be reined in, a Pakistani intelligence official told dpa.
The attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, who have killed around 80,000 people in decades of violence, have increased manifold since the fall of Kabul to the Afghan militia in 2021.
Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar Kakar said this week Afghan rulers must fulfill the commitment under the 2020 Doha agreement to deny the use of their land by the militants.
Troops from Pakistan and Afghanistan exchange fire routinely on the 2,600-kilometer-long shared border, adding to the unrest.
Thousands of Afghans cross Torkham daily to seek treatment at hospitals in Pakistan.
GNA