ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed in principle on Wednesday to start a cross-border bus service with trial runs beginning next month, officials said.

Transport officials from both countries may sign a formal agreement on Thursday, said Firdus Alam, a senior official from the communication ministry.

The bus service will link Peshawar with Jalalabad, the capital of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.

The service is scheduled to start on March 20, said Mohammed Hashim Waiz, the head of the Afghan delegation at the talks.

The two countries will discuss starting another bus service between Quetta and Kandahar in southern Afghanistan after looking at the outcome of the Peshawar-Jalalabad route, Mr Alam said.

Pakistan is home to millions of Afghan refugees, and illegal border crossings are common.—AP