QUETTA: Pakistan has reopened its border with Afghanistan at Chaman after a gap of five months.

The border at Chaman and other crossing points in Balochistan had been closed on March 2 after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The authorities said on Saturday that the border was opened on Friday after a series of high-level meetings between security officials, traders and the provincial government’s special committee.

The Afghan Transit Trade as well as import and export between the two countries had been resumed.

During these past five months, however, the border had been opened temporarily on different occasions for allowing Afghan and Pakistani nationals to visit their countries on human grounds.

A senior official in Chaman said the border would remain open seven days a week and citizens from both the countries would be allowed to cross into their countries after showing their national identity cards and other legal documents.

He, however, said the decision to allow the labourers who bring small items from Afghanistan without paying customs duty was yet to be taken.

“The labour class would be allowed in phases,” senior official Zakaullah Durrani told Dawn.

The alliance of labourers had expressed satisfaction over the decision, he said, adding that horse carts and pushcarts would be allowed later to bring goods from the other side of the border.

The official said that the federal government was considering allowing lower labourers to bring small goods from Afghanistan after paying 20 per cent customs duty.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2020