RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
March 8, 2017
Pakistan’s border police say more than 20,000 Afghans and Pakistanis have crossed into Afghanistan since March 7 since Pakistani authorities temporarily reopened two main crossings that were closed after a series of militant attacks.
The figures on the number of people making the crossing during the temporary reopening was announced on March 8 by Faiz Khan, a Pakistani official at the Torkham crossing into eastern Afghanistan.
Khan said thousands more people were waiting late on March 8 at Torkham and the Chaman crossing into Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar — hoping to cross into Afghanistan before the two-day opening was set to end.
Islamabad closed its Torkham and Chaman crossings on February 16 after a series of suicide attacks in Pakistan that killed dozens of children, soldiers, and police officers.
Islamabad claimed that the attacks were carried out by militants who were crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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