Pakistan reopens Afghan crossing shut after border hostilities

Pakistan has reopened a major Afghan border crossing that was shut for trade and transit after security forces clashed last week, officials from both sides said on Monday.

As the crossing opened on Monday, three people were wounded in another clash reported on a northwestern border with Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.

Abdul Hameed Zehri, Deputy Commissioner of the Pakistan town of Chahman, which borders the Afghan district of Spin Boldak, said the southwestern crossing was reopened after a dialog between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban officials on Sunday.

Thousands of people and hundreds of trucks that had been stranded on both sides were able to cross the border on Monday, Zehri said.

The separate hostilities that started on Monday were in the northwestern Pakistan district of Kurram, said Munib Zadran, a police spokesman for bordering Paktia province.

A Pakistani security official said the fresh exchange of fire killed one member of border personnel and wounded nine other people.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the latest clash.

“We are going to meet senior Pakistani officials to find an amicable solution,” he said.

The Pakistan military did not respond to a request for comment, but a Pakistan security official said there has been regular border management coordination with Afghan authorities, adding that details of Afghan investigations into last week’s hostilities will be shared with Pakistan in due course.

Disputes linked to the miles-long border have been a bone of contention between the neighboring countries for decades.