Transit trade with Afghanistan to remain suspended until security situation evaluated: Pak Foreign Office

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 25 (ANI): Pakistan Foreign Office on Friday said that it plans to keep transit trade with Afghanistan suspended for the foreseeable future till the security situation at the border is evaluated.

"Afghan transit trade is closed, and is not taking place. It is not taking place because of the factors that you were aware of. There was considerable discussion on this question during last week's briefing as well. Till the evaluation of the security situation, this transit trade will remain closed," said Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi at a weekly press briefing.

He claimed that there had been continuous attacks on trading points at the border from the Afghan side that killed Pakistanis, adding that the lives of citizens were "more important than any commodity trade", as reported by Dawn.

During the press briefing, Dawn reported that the spokesperson also mentioned that they are "ascertaining the details" about reports of the Taliban supreme leader ordering the construction of a dam on the Kunar River.

"We are ascertaining the details. But generally, transboundary rivers are governed by international law. In such a matter, Pakistan is both an upper and lower riparian. So, we will follow this matter", the spokesperson said.

The Chitral River originates from Pakistan and is called Kunar when it enters Afghanistan. It joins the Kabul River near Jalalabad before re-entering Pakistan.

Border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained closed since October 11, following fighting and Pakistani airstrikes which killed dozens of people on both sides.

The border clashes were triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul control militants who attack Pakistan across their shared border, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. The Taliban has denied the charge.

A ceasefire was agreed in talks hosted by Qatar and Turkey last weekend and is holding between the two sides, but the border trade remains closed. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for October 25 in Istanbul.

According to Dawn, a senior official said earlier that there was no chance of opening the border before the meeting between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul on Oct 25, where both sides will decide plans in view of the recent clashes.

However, border authorities opened the Friendship Gate for a limited time for the repatriation of Afghan refugees, who were reaching Chaman from different areas of Balochistan and Karachi.

The activities at the immigration section of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) were also suspended, and those who were going to Afghanistan with visas and passports were stuck in Chaman due to the border closure, with over 5,000 people stranded. (ANI)

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