Pak, Afghan to re-open Chaman border gate from tomorrow

Pakistan and Afghanistan today agreed to re-open a friendship gate from tomorrow at a border crossing in Balochistan that was closed for two weeks after Afghan protesters burned the Pakistani flag at a border rally.
The decision was made after the fifth flag meeting between Pakistan and Afghanistan border force officials in Chaman in Balochistan province.
The border crossing, also known as Bab-e-Dosti (Friendship Gate), was closed on August 18 after some Afghan nationals gathered near the border gate and raised anti-Pakistan slogans. The Afghan protestors also started pelting stones at the gate and burned Pakistani flag.
After today's meeting, the Pakistani delegation chief Lt Col Muhammad Changez said the Afghan delegation submitted a written apology over the August 18 incident which led to the closure of the gate by the Pakistani authorities.

He said Col Muhammad Ali, who led the Afghan delegation, admitted that some anti-Pakistan and anti-Afghan elements were responsible for raising anti-Pakistan slogans and burning the Pakistani flag at the border this month.
Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been adversely affected since the closure of the friendship gate, according to Dar Khan Achakzai, a former Chairman of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce and a local businessman.

Achakzai said that due to the closure of the border the daily transit of 500 to 600 loaded trucks and containers carrying perishable items like fresh fruit and vegetables had been put on hold for last 13 days.

On daily basis around 600 trucks and containers cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan carrying fruits and vegetables.
Similarly a lot of cottage industry goods from Gujranwala and Wazirabad in Punjab and other items go daily to Afghanistan, he said.
Also, every day between 10,000 and 15,000 Pakistani and Afghan traders cross into Chaman in Balochistan and Vesh Mandi in Kandhar province of Afghanistan.
The closure of the gate has badly affected the export and import business between the two countries, Achakzai said.