LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Aug 22: The design of a gate to be built at the Torkham border has become a bone of contention between the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the latter has expressed reservations over its design.

The crossing point between the two countries at Torkham has been without a gate for more than a month after the National Highways Authority removed the old gate as part of their plan to renovate and expand a kilometre-long road leading to the border from Landi Kotal.

Afghan officials posted at Torkham raised objections about the design of the new gate when the NHA wanted to reconstruct the gate at its old location a month ago.

Officials of the political administration posted in Landi Kotal failed in their attempt to resolve the matter with their counterparts on the Afghan side.

The local administration tried to hush up the matter and belittle the gravity of the Afghan objections.

Requesting anonymity, one official said that Indian Consulate in Jalalabad was fanning this issue.

The Afghan security chief at Torkham, Syed Qahar Bacha, refused to comment but said that the matter had been conveyed to Kabul for consultations with Pakistani authorities.

An Afghan Embassy official in Islamabad said that his government had not been informed before the gate was demolished.

He said that the new gate could only be built with the approval of his government.

He said that it was only after their protest over the design of the gate that a communication to the effect was received from Pakistan which said: “The new gate was to be constructed and expanded in order to facilitate the transportation of goods to Afghanistan through Torkham.”

He however, clarified that his government would not erect its own gate at Torkham, as was speculated by certain quarters.