Islamabad, Pakistan – A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been reopened for pedestrian and vehicular traffic after remaining closed for nine days, following an exchange of fire between the security forces of the two countries.

Muhammad Anas, an official in Khyber district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Torkham border crossing is located, confirmed the development to Al Jazeera on Friday.“We opened the border gates after 7.30am today [Friday]. Immigration and custom officials arrived to resume their duties as normal, and both pedestrian and vehicular traffic was allowed to pass through,” he said.

Afghan officials in Nangarhar province on the other side of the border also confirmed the opening of the main crossing between the two nations through which hundreds of people and vehicles cross every day.

The crossing was closed on September 6 after a deadly exchange of fire between Pakistani and Afghan border forces, killing at least two Afghan soldiers and wounding several others.

Pakistan accused Afghanistan of “constructing unlawful structures” near the crossing and said unprovoked and indiscriminate firing by the Afghan forces led to its closure.

The ruling Taliban government in Afghanistan rejected the allegations and said it was only repairing an old security post when Pakistani security forces opened fire on them.

The Taliban blamed Islamabad for causing hindrances and delays in opening the transit point.

Qari Nazim Gul of the All-Pakistan Customs Agents Association, told Al Jazeera the closure caused traders losses worth millions of rupees.

“We had hundreds of trucks lined up at the border. This repeated closure of Torkham gate causes suffering for people like us who are trying to earn a living or those who are just seeking to meet their families. This needs to end,” he said over the telephone.

Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain frosty. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghan officials of harbouring fighters belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed group.

Afghan authorities deny the charges, saying they do not allow any armed group to use their soil for launching attacks on neighbouring countries.

In recent months, the TTP, ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, has drastically increased its attacks on Pakistani security forces.

Earlier this month, on the day Torkham was closed, the group killed four Pakistani soldiers and lost 12 of its members in an attack in the Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of constructing “unlawful structures” at a key border crossing, calling it a violation of territorial sovereignty.

The Torkham border crossing in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been closed since Wednesday after a deadly exchange of fire between their forces. Hundreds of trucks carrying essential goods have since been stranded on both sides.In a statement on Monday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “unprovoked and indiscriminate firing” by Afghan forces led to the closure of the most important trade route between the two countries.

“On the 6th of September, instead of a peaceful resolution, Afghan troops resorted to indiscriminate firing, targeting Pakistan military posts, damaging the infrastructure at the Torkham Border Terminal, and putting the lives of both Pakistani and Afghan civilians at risk, when they were stopped from erecting such unlawful structures,” it said.

The statement came a day after talks between the two countries on reopening the Torkham crossing failed.

On Saturday, the Taliban government accused the Pakistani security forces of firing on its troops when they were repairing an “old security post”. It said Islamabad was “causing hindrances and delays” in opening the transit point.

“[The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] reminds the Pakistani side that such actions are detrimental to the trade of Afghanistan, region and national economy of Pakistan, which is heavily dependent the most on exports in the current situation,” said the Afghan statement.

Pakistan has alleged the Afghan forces were “illegally” building a new border post, which led to last week’s exchange of fire between the guards. The Taliban said two of its guards were killed in the firing.

The Torkham border closure came as relations between the two countries remain frosty, with Pakistan repeatedly urging Afghanistan to control the movement of armed attackers and stop them from entering its territory.

Afghanistan denies the allegation that it allows its soil to be used by armed groups to launch attacks on other nations.

Pakistan’s allegation follows a surge in armed attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces since the Taliban came to power in 2021.

Most such attacks are claimed by the outlawed Pakistan Taliban, also known by the acronym TTP, which is ideologically aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

On the day of the Torkham firing, TTP claimed to have attacked two military checkposts in remote Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing four Pakistani soldiers. At least 12 TTP fighters also died in the attacks.