KABUL: Thousands of people from Pakistan rushed into Afghanistan as Chaman-Spin Boldak gate reopened on Tuesday, nearly a month after the border crossing was closed for pedestrians and trade by the Taliban.
The Chaman border crossing is the second-largest commercial border point between the two countries which reopened after talks between the Afghan and Pakistan governments, Pakistani media reported.
“This border was closed for one month and three days. People were in great distress and discomfort. There was no work, no food,” said Bacha, an Afghan national. The crossing, a vital source of customs revenue for the cash-strapped government in Afghanistan, was originally closed by Pakistani authorities due to security threats.
The reopening should come as a relief to the Taliban government in Kabul, which desperately needs the customs revenues from the border posts. Its cash-strapped economy has few other legitimate sources of foreign revenue.
Traders in Pakistan welcomed the decision to reopen the border, highlighting that the closure of the Chaman-Spin Boldak gate had caused huge financial losses and mental distress to businessmen and farmers, whose produce 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.
According to the statement, PAJCCI Chairperson Zubair Motiwala lauded Alokozai’s efforts for the reopening of the crossing and said both Pakistan and Afghanistan “must keep communication channels open to ensure that [the] border remains open”.
He also called for immediately developing a framework to address issues arising out of the routine and force majeure border closure.
