Trade suspended amid Afghan border closure

Pakistan troops remain on high alert

TORKHAM:

Border trade with Afghanistan remained suspended for a third day running on Tuesday as Pakistan closed crossings along the 2,600-km frontier after deadly weekend clashes, stranding scores of loaded goods vehicles on either side.

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops remained on high alert following fierce clashes between the two sides that resulted in the martyrdom of 23 soldiers and left over 200 Taliban fighters dead, including a number of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.

"All entry points are closed since Saturday following unprovoked attacks by the Afghan Taliban forces," a senior security official said.

A second security official said there were a few incidents of exchange of small arms fire on Sunday night, but the overall situation was calm.

Enayatullah Khowarazmi, Afghanistan's defence ministry spokesperson, told Reuters that the "current situation" on the border was normal, but did not share details.

With border crossings for vehicles and pedestrians closed, all government offices on the border dealing with trade and other administrative issues had been shut, a senior government official said.

"Loaded vehicles, including containers and trucks, are stuck on both sides of the border," said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, senior vice president of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"Besides fresh fruit and vegetables, they are carrying imports and exports and transit trade goods and causing millions of rupees of losses to the two countries as well as traders," he said.

Pakistan is the main source of goods and food supplies for landlocked, impoverished Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, Abidullah Uqab, a spokesperson for the border police, confirmed that all the border crossings with Pakistan remained shut for trade and movement of people on Monday.

It was not clear when the border might reopen.

Though the Chaman border crossing was closed for trade, authorities briefly allowed about 1,500 Afghan nationals stranded there since Sunday to return home on foot, government officer Imtiaz Ali said.

Torkham, however, remained closed to all travel and trade. The closure was confirmed by Mujib Ullah, a representative for local traders.

Afghan refugees, including many who were waiting to leave Pakistan because of a crackdown on foreigners living in the country illegally, said they had been waiting at the Torkham crossing since Sunday.

Gul Rahman, a refugee, said he waited through Sunday at Torkham before returning with his family to the northwestern city of Peshawar.