QUETTA: Traffic between Chaman and Kandahar remained suspended for several hours on Monday after a large number of protesters blocked in Chaman the highway linking Pakistan with Afghanistan by putting up barricades and burning tyres.

The people were protesting against the closure of the Pak-Afghan border by Frontier Corps to stop illegal business across it .

They gathered at the main Chaman-Kandahar highway, blocking it for traffic.

The people also put up barricades on the highway and burnt tyres suspending traffic between Chaman and Kandahar.

They also pelted the passing vehicles with stones, smashing windscreens of some of them.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government and the FC. Police and FC personnel used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

A large number of trucks and other vehicles carrying goods under the Afghan Transit Trade remained stuck on both sides of the border.

The Frontier Corps and Pakistan Customs have launched a campaign against illegal trade on the border and they are not allowing the people involved in bringing different goods from both sides. The protesters continued blocking the highway for several hours.

A leader of the protesters, Amir Muhammad, said that the people involved in small businesses were facing serious problems because of the restrictions imposed by Frontier Corps and Customs authorities on carrying small items from both sides of the border for trade purposes.

“We have no other means to earn our bread and butter except doing this business,” he said, adding that hundreds of people on both sides of the border had become jobless because of the new restrictions.

He said the people involved in the trade were becoming criminals as they had no other jobs.

Later, the Deputy Commissioner of Qila Abdullah, Qaisar Khan Nasar, and Sajid Mohmond held talks with protesters and assured them that their issue would be resolved through negotiations with officials of the Frontier Corps and Customs authorities.

After assurances and successful negotiations, the protesters dispersed and traffic between Chaman and Kandahar was restored in the evening.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2017