Pak-Afghan Torkham border crossing reopens after 27 days Report

Islamabad, Mar 19 (PTI) The Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan reopened on Wednesday after 27 days of closure following talks between jirga members from both sides, according to a media report.
     The cross-border movement was suspended on February 21 after Islamabad shut it down over a dispute concerning the construction of a border post by the Afghan government.
     Head of the Pakistani jirga (tribal council) Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi told the Dawn newspaper that the border has opened for cargo vehicles.
     He added that it will reopen for pedestrians and patients on Friday after repairs to the Pakistani customs infrastructure, which was damaged by firing from the Afghan side.
     The decision to reopen the border was taken at a meeting at Torkham on the Afghan side on Wednesday, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
     Since February 21, officials and tribal elders on both sides have been holding talks about reopening the border. On Monday, the Pakistan-Afghanistan Jirga agreed on a ceasefire and the border's reopening.
     The movement of people via the border crossing, situated about 55 kilometres west-northwest of Peshawar, was abruptly suspended after Pakistani and Afghan security forces developed differences over construction activities on both sides of the border.
     In the past, both countries have closed Torkham and the southwestern Chaman border crossing, most often over deadly shootings and cross-fire. The crossings are vital for trade and travel between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.
     Earlier, an exchange of firing between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the Torkham border overnight on March 3 left one civilian from Pakistan injured.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)