QUETTA: The government on Monday reopened the key Chaman border crossing with landlocked Afghanistan for trade and pedestrian movement after shutting it down a week earlier after an Afghan gunman shot and killed a soldier and wounded two others, an official said.
The deadly shooting on November 13 shuttered the border, which is also known as Friendship Gate, causing heavy losses to traders and stranding thousands of people on both sides.
Apart from trade activities, thousands of people, mainly Afghans, daily cross into the two bordering areas for medical and labour purposes.
Abdul Hameed Zehri, the deputy commissioner of Chaman, told reporters the decision to reopen the border came after talks with Taliban officials. They are searching for the attacker and would hand over the suspect to Islamabad, he said.
Zehri said Afghan officials also expressed grief and sorrow over the killing of the border guard.
There was no immediate comment from Kabul.
It was unclear what exactly promoted the Afghan attacker to open fire at Pakistan guards before fleeing the scene. According to TV footage, the attacker in the presence of Taliban border guards suddenly pulled out his gun and opened fire.
Angered over the incident, Pakistan quickly closed the border.
Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan share 18 crossing points, with the busiest ones being the northwestern Torkham and Chaman border posts. The two neighbours share a porous border of almost 2,670 kilometres (1,640 miles).
Afghanistan’s Taliban seized the capital of Kabul in August 2021. Since then, they have mostly relied on trade with Pakistan to generate revenue, although Islamabad like the rest of the world has not recognized the Taliban government yet.
Pakistan, like other nations, wants the Taliban to fulfil their commitment to the international community to respect human and women’s rights.
