QUETTA: The Friendship Gate at the Pak-Afghan border could not be opened for a fourth consecutive day, as efforts for reopening of the border failed on Wednesday.

Sources said a delegation of the Afghan Taliban administration visited Chaman and condoled with the Pakistan security officials over the death of a soldier of the Frontier Corps who embraced martyrdom when armed men opened fire at the Friendship Gate on Sunday.

The Afghan Taliban during their stay at the Friendship Gate held talks with the Pakistani officials deployed at the border. They expressed their grief over the death of the soldier, terming it an unfortunate incident.

The sources said that Kabul and Islamabad were in contact with each other on the issue of the border closure. However, no progress was reported regarding the opening of the border until the Taliban hand over to Pakistan the people involved in the firing.

Meanwhile, the return of Pakistani and Afg­han families to their respective countries was completed.

“We allowed all Pakistanis to come back to Chaman from Afghanistan who produced required legal documents, which proved their Pakistani nationality,” a senior official of the Chaman administration told Dawn, adding that the border was completely closed.

“We are awaiting instructions from Islamabad about the opening of the border with Afghanistan,” the official said.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2022