QUETTA: Afghanistan’s border authorities opened their border with Pakistan on Tuesday morning, allowing thousands of Afghan nationals to cross into their country, Pakistani border officials said.

Pakistan had opened the Chaman border on Monday on the special request of the Afghan government to allow Afghan nationals, including women and children, to return to their country. But, the Afghan authorities had closed the border before the closing time due to which return of Afghan nationals to their country was suspended.

The Afghan authorities, however, informed their Pakistani counterparts on Tuesday that they were now ready to open the border for one-side repatriation of Afghan nationals.

The Chaman border was opened at around 9am on Tuesday.

Officials of the Federal Investigation Agency said that Afghan nationals were allowed to cross the border after checking of their travel documents.

An official of the Chaman district administration, Zaka­ullah Durrani, told Dawn that around 11,000 Afghan nationals had returned to their country from Monday to Tuesday. Around six to seven thousands more Afghans will have to go to their country till April 9.

He said that a large number of Pakistanis, including around 1,000 drivers of containers who went to Afgha­nistan with transit trade goods, were waiting on the Afghan side of the border for their entry into Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020