Border dispute strands thousands of trucks at Afghanistan-Pakistan crossing

AFP | Tokyo                                                            

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Thousands of trucks were stranded at the busiest frontier crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday, Afghan officials said, days after border points were closed to trade in the latest row over document rules for commercial vehicle drivers.

Crossings between the two countries have been temporarily shut in recent months after Islamabad last year launched a massive operation against undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan and tightened document requirements for Afghans entering the country.

The Torkham crossing was closed to trade vehicles on Friday night, border officials said, with around 3,000 trucks stranded on both sides of the border as of Monday, the co-chairman of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khan Jan Alakozai, told AFP.

This “has not only inflicted losses on traders from both countries but has also resulted in an increase in market prices, as most of the cargo consists of food items that will perish if the crossing remains closed”, he said.

Both sides blamed the other for the latest shutdown at the Torkham crossing, which was extended to other border points since Friday.