Officials reported Sunday that a vital border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has reopened, days after security personnel clashed, killing at least three people.
Border tensions between the neighbors have escalated since the Taliban retook control last year, with Pakistan accusing militant groups of preparing attacks from Afghan land.
The Taliban deny hosting Pakistani terrorists, but they are enraged by a fence being built by Islamabad along their 2,700-kilometer (1,600-mile) border, known as the Durand Line, which was drawn up during colonial times.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s paramilitary border force told AFP, “The border is reopened for all kinds of business.”
It came after “successful talks” between Pakistani officials and the governor of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, according to a security source.
The governor’s spokesman, Mahmood Azaam, verified that it had reopened.
Locals said light and heavy firearms were used in the clashes at the Chaman-Spin Boldak border on Thursday, and each side accused the other.
Traders, Afghans seeking medical treatment in Pakistan, and individuals visiting relatives are among the thousands that cross every day.
