Pakistan, Afghan forces trade fire at key border crossing

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least one person was killed and another injured after Pakistani and Afghan border forces traded fire at a key border crossing that remains closed for over a week, a security official said on Monday.

The latest exchange of fire took place at Torkham border, one of the two main trade corridors between the two neighbors, which was shut by Pakistan late last month due to a dispute over the construction of a new checkpoint on the Afghan side.

The injured received a bullet shot, while another person died because of a stampede caused by heavy firing, a Pakistani security official told Anadolu on the condition of anonymity.

Closure of Torkham crossing that connects Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province has led to a daily loss of $3 million to the trade between the two countries, according to the official.

Torkham is one of the 18 crossings between the two neighbors, which have been locked in a border dispute for decades, leading to frequent closure of land connections.

Some 10,000 people, mainly Afghans, use the crossing daily to seek medical treatment and earn a livelihood in Pakistan's border areas.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been sour since November 2023, after Islamabad launched a crackdown against illegal foreigners, mostly Afghan refugees, and announced it would send them back to their countries.

Islamabad also accuses Kabul of providing safe havens to militants who launch attacks in Pakistan. The interim Afghan government denies the charge.