KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to open Chaman-Spin border after weeks of closure from Tuesday (tomorrow) for the public movement and trade-related activities, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Khan announced on Monday.
“After discussions between border authorities of Pakistan [and] Afghanistan, friendship gate at Chaman-Boldak crossing point will open from tomorrow morning [and] two sides will ensure facilitative movement of people [and] trade/transit vehicles,” Mansoor Khan said in a Tweet.
After discussions between border authorities of Pakistan & Afghanistan, friendship gate at Chaman-Boldak crossing point will open from tomorrow morning & two sides will ensure facilitative movement of people & trade/transit vehicles. @ForeignOfficePk @PakinAfg @mfa_afghanistan
— Mansoor Ahmad Khan (@ambmansoorkhan) November 1, 2021
Meanwhile, talking to Dawn.com, Ambassador Khan said he had recently called on Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and, among other issues, they had discussed the need for opening the Boldak-Chaman crossing at the earliest.
“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 told the media outlet.
According to a senior member of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce, Usman Achakzai, the decision to reopen the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing was taken at a meeting held on the Afghan side of the border on Monday morning.
The Taliban government’s deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi also confirmed to Dawn.com that both sides had reached an understanding that passengers should not face difficulties.
The Taliban had closed the key 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.
Pakistani border authorities, meanwhile, maintained that the Taliban officials had not officially informed them about the reason for closing the border at Chaman.
