Traders end monthslong protest at Pakistan-Afghan border crossing

The Chaman border crossing on the Pakistan-Afghan border reopened Monday after small traders ended a nine-month sit-in protest. The border had been closed due to a Pakistani government decision to implement a visa and passport program for travelers on both sides.

Initial reports indicate that small traders can now resume crossing with Pakistani and/or Afghan identity documents. Abdul Hadi, a trader, told VOA that the sit-in ended Sunday and that he crossed into Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The protesters’ committee spokesperson, Sadiq Achakzai, told VOA that Chaman Sit-in Committee members held talks with military leadership to resolve the issue. However, no official notification regarding the change has been issued by the government.

Former Balochistan caretaker interior minister Inayat Ullah Kahan Kasi, who mediated talks between Pakistan’s government and protesters, played a crucial role in ending the 9-month protest.

“I do not represent any government authority but government and security agencies assigned me the job to end the protest and I did it,” Kasi said.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind refused to discuss the issue when VOA contacted him.

Pakistani officials have said that cross-border movement must be regulated to improve security and control smuggling.

Pashtun tribes straddling both sides of the British-era border’s Durand Line have historically moved freely for businesses and communal life.

A surge in violence in Pakistan since the Taliban took over in Afghanistan nearly three years ago has triggered security concerns and Pakistani government officials have insisted the border must be regulated.

Pakistani officials have blamed the Afghan Taliban for sheltering terror group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which, according to Pakistani authorities, carries out cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani security forces. The Taliban denies the accusations.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Afghan interim government, said recently in an interview with Khurasan Diaries, a Pakistani digital news platform, that border trade issues and other matters should be dealt with separately.

Pakistan’s military said in a statement July 16 that eight soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into an army compound in Bannu, a remote city in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A splinter group of Pakistani Taliban, led by militant commander Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the attack.