Chaman border opened for pedestrians

CHAMAN: The Bab-e-Dosti Gate (Friendship Gate) at the Chaman border has been opened for pedestrians from Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday.

According to a statement, the decision was taken after the Pak-Afghan authorities mutually consented to reopen the Bab-e-Dosti Gate. The gate will remain open for seven days from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

According to security officials, the border would remain open for pedestrians; whereas bilateral trade has already been resumed as freight trucks are crossing the border under strict security arrangements.

Talking to media the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, Attaullah Khogyani said the first batch of hundreds of stranded people had started entering Afghanistan.

Khogyani also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for opening the borders to facilitate people. The Friendship Gate remained closed for six months due to lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On August 12, the Pak-Afghan border crossing at Chaman was reopened for trade after it was closed in late July following a clash that erupted over border closure.

The border was opened after talks with the Pak-Afghan border government committee and other relevant parties. However, pedestrian traffic on the border remained suspended.