Landikotal: Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border remained shut on Monday for sixth consecutive day.
All kind of commute including trade continued to be at a halt and many trucks loaded with perishable food items are stuck across the border.
The matter over the reopening of the Torkham border remained unsettled on Sunday, as a meeting between Pakistani and Afghan border security officials to reach an agreement resolved nothing.
Sources said this was the first meeting between the two sides to discuss border security situation after the border was closed on Wednesday following an exchange of fire.
The Afghan side rejected allegations that they had initiated the firing and alleged that Pakistani border forces had resorted to firing on September 6 when they tried to build a new security post and rebuild an old one. The Afghan delegation said the new post, if established, would help the Pakistani side and wouldn’t be used against them, the sources said.
The Pakistani delegation clarified it had no objection to the renovation of any old post or security structure, but the Afghan side was bound by past agreements to inform Pakistan about any new structure within a radius of one hundred meters of the border.
The Pakistani side made it clear that a decision would be made after consultations with “higher authorities”, while Afghan officials kept insisting on a prompt decision about border reopening.
Official sources in Islamabad have also claimed that Pakistan was serious about finding a solution to the issue and considering reopening the border as soon as possible.
