February 29, 2008	Friday	Safar 21, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Feb 28: A 20-member delegation of Afghan and US military and customs officials met their Pakistani counterparts at the Torkham border on Thursday, officials said.

The Torkham border remained closed for nearly three hours. Strict security measures were adopted at the border and security personnel had been deployed at hilltops around Torkham during the meeting.

Hundreds of pedestrians and dozens of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the border during the closure of the border, which opened in the afternoon after the US and Afghan officials left for Jalalabad.

The delegation was led by Nangrahar Brigade Commander of US Army Lt-Col Muhlar and the Pakistani side was led by Khyber Rifles Commandant Col Qaiser Alam.

Official sources said that apart from discussing security issues, the Pakistani officials also took up the matter of reconstruction of a gate at the Torkham border.

The old gate at Torkham was demolished by the National Highway Authority in early 2006 as part of expansion of the Torkham-Jalalabad road. Since then, the Afghan government is opposing reconstruction of the gate, saying it had not been consulted on the demolition of the gate by the Pakistani authorities.

The Pakistan government had announced that the new gate would be opened on Aug 14, 2004, but the plan was postponed for an indefinite period after objections raised by the Afghan government.

The sources said the US officials had assured the Pakistani team that they would soon take up the matter with Afghan officials in Kabul.

Matters relating to clearance of oil and aid consignments for the allied forces in Afghanistan also came under discussion and it was agreed to expedite customs clearance of such goods in keeping with the law and order situation on both sides of the border. The move is aimed at minimising incidents of theft of goods from containers and petrol from oil tankers.

The meeting also agreed to keep a vigil on the movement of pedestrians at the Torkham border, the officials said. It was agreed that traffic flow would be curtailed at the border during night.