QUETTA: Workers and supporters of various political parties and organisations staged a sit-in at Chaman on Saturday to protest the government’s recent decision mandating that any crossing at the Afghan border will require a valid passport and visa from Nov 1.

The government’s apex committee decided last week that the current system — under which indivi­duals can cross the border using the Afghan national identity card or tazkira — would be replaced to align with the border-crossing regulations observed with other countries.

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Leaders from political parties like the Pashtoon­khwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan Awami Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Jamaat-i-Islami, Awami Nat­ional Party (ANP), PML-Q, alongside trader organisations, tribal elders and members of civil society have denounced this new directive. They organised the sit-in on the Chaman-Kandahar highway to protest these restrictions, drawing hundreds of participants, who blocked the highway by putting up barricades and suspending traffic.

Party representatives voiced concerns over the new regulations, fearing that they would hurt nearly 40,000 individuals who depend on daily border crossings for their livelihoods.

The leaders emphasised that residents of the border area have historically crossed it using local documentation, as they have families on both sides.

“We will not accept such restrictions for border crossing,” Asghar Achakzai, the president of ANP’s Balochistan chapter, said, adding that these restrictions would deprive thousands of families of their livelihoods.

The protesters demanded the government revert to old border crossing regulations and vowed to continue the sit-in until their conditions were met.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2023