Pakistan’s envoy to Afghanistan Mansoor Khan stated on Monday that an agreement had been submitted to the Afghan authorities calling for reopening of the Chaman-Spin Boldak gate from tomorrow onwards. The decision has been taken nearly a month after Taliban closed the border crossing for trade and pedestrians.
“As a result of a meeting between border authorities, Afghanistan and Pakistan have decided to open [the] Chaman-Boldak crossing from tomorrow for pedestrians as well as trade. The two sides will now look forward to ensuring smooth operations of the important border crossing,” Ambassador Khan stated.
The ambassador added that he had called on Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and they had discussed the significance of opening the Boldak-Chaman crossing. The reopening is important in order to facilitate cross-border movement of people and trade vehicles on both sides, especially because it was the fruit harvest season in Afghanistan.
“We also had discussions about following up on the recent visit of the foreign minister of Pakistan to Kabul, which was extremely productive. We remain closely engaged with Afghan authorities for facilitating the movement of people at all border crossings,” he added.
A senior member of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce, Usman Achakzai stated that the decision to reopen the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing was taken on Monday morning, at a meeting held on the Afghan side of the border.
Achakzai added that the meeting was held in the wake of discussions between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Taliban officials in Kabul last month. He went on to add that the meeting had the members of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce and security officials in attendance, while adding that the Taliban had removed blockades placed on their side of the border.
Similarly, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi also stated that both sides had reached an understanding that passengers should not face difficulties.
“Similarly, imports and exports via Chaman-Spin Boldak should continue without any hurdles. Both sides have also agreed that there should be no problem in the transit trade. We have held discussions on the issue and I am confident that a permanent solution will be found out,” Karimi stated.
It is pertinent to note that the Taliban had closed border crossing along the frontier with Afghanistan in Balochistan on October 5, claiming that “traders, patients and passengers were facing difficulties [at the border]”, but Pakistan was unwilling to resolve problems despite their efforts.
In this regard, Pakistani border authorities stated that the Taliban officials had not officially informed them about the reason for closing the border at Chaman.
At least four meetings were held between Pakistani and Afghan border authorities to address the issue but no result was yielded until now.
As per reports, Taliban were demanding that people from Afghanistan should be allowed to cross into Pakistan by showing their Afghan identity cards instead of being asked to show other travel documents.
Additonally, a committee comprising senior civil and military officials in Balochistan was last month to address key issues related to cross-border movement at the Chaman-Spin Boldak border.
It merits mention that the closure of the border crossing had an adverse effect on the pomegranate farmers of Afghanistan as it hindered in the export of the fruit. While Pakistan has slashed the duty on fresh vegetables and fruit coming from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the trader community and farmers in Pakistan were happy at the decision to reopen the border, highlighting that the closure of the Chaman-Spin Boldak gate had caused them major financial losses and mental distress whose production had been ruined this export season.
“Taliban border security has removed the barriers from zero point on November 1, and gates will be opened for trade, cargo and pedestrian movement from November 2,” Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Co-chairperson Khan Jan Alokozai said in a statement issued by the forum.
As per the statement, PAJCCI Chairperson Zubair Motiwala appreciated Alokozai’s efforts pertaining to the reopening of the crossing while stating that both Pakistan and Afghanistan “must keep communication channels open to ensure that [the] border remains open”.
Motiwala stressed at the the need for the Afghan government to engage in dialogue with the business community of Pakistan by stating that “as there are still many pending problems such as the rationalisation of custom duties, usage of banking instruments and ensuring security for Pakistani businesses [while accessing] Central Asian republics”.
Motiwala also urged for immediate developing of a framework to address issues raising out of the routine and force majeure border closure, while adding that this would make up to the losses of traders, safeguard the socioeconomic needs of the general public and strengthen ties between two countries.
“Issues and differences should be sorted out via table talks and border closures should be avoided at all costs,” he concluded.
