Chaman shut in protest against border closure

Published October 23, 2021
A file view of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman. — APP
A file view of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman. — APP

QUETTA: A complete strike was observed in Chaman on Friday on the call of All Parties Traders Alliance against the closure of Pak-Afghan border by the Taliban government for more than two weeks.

All shops, markets, shopping malls and businesses remained closed in the border town.

Several rounds of negotiations between Afghan officials and border authorities of Pakistan for reopening the border have remained fruitless.

A delegation headed by Kandahar Governor Mullah Yousaf Wafa also held talks with Pakistani authorities at Spin Boldak, but Afghan authorities refused to open the border until Afghan nationals are allowed to cross into Pakistan on Afghan Teskera (identity card).

Pakistani border authorities said that they had not closed the border at Chaman but it was a decision taken by Afghan officials in Kandahar.

Leaders of the All Parties Traders Alliance Lala Jan Achakzai and Sadiq Achakzai said the business community was facing huge financial loss due to the closure of border for the past 17 days. They said prices of goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, had gone up in the local markets as supplies from Afghanistan had been suspended.

“Thousands of daily-wage workers who earn their livelihood on both sides of the border have become jobless and they have no other means to earn their bread and butter,” they said, adding that several thousands of Pakistani and Afghan nationals, including patients, had also been struck up at Chaman and the Vesh Mandi areas.

They said restrictions on the pedestrians on both sides should be removed and they should be allowed border crossing on the national identity cards of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The traders said that unnecessary check-posts should be removed and border opened for 24 hours as Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced. They said a separate crossing gate for women should be established and the administrative powers of the Federal Investigation Agency restored.

The traders said representatives of the All Parties Traders Alliance should be included in the negotiation team which was holding negotiations with the Afghan authorities.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

The vanquished
Updated 02 Mar, 2025

The vanquished

A system of justice that is publicly perceived to be skewed cannot deliver judgements that the public will accept unquestioningly as objective and just.
Cricket overhaul
02 Mar, 2025

Cricket overhaul

PAKISTAN’S team management has pleaded for time and patience. Cricket head coach Aaqib Javed took responsibility...
Local representation?
02 Mar, 2025

Local representation?

THE disdain that major political parties harbour towards local governments is no secret. No party in power wants to...
Exceptional Assembly
Updated 01 Mar, 2025

Exceptional Assembly

Both the govt and the NA remained completely unbothered by public perceptions in their first year.
Haqqania bombing
Updated 01 Mar, 2025

Haqqania bombing

If the seminary attack is indeed traced to IS, it would signal a fresh security challenge in KP.
Blood and drugs
01 Mar, 2025

Blood and drugs

FREQUENT news stories about bone-chilling murders show that the face of crime is changing — there is a marked rise...