Paul Alexander VOA News February 18, 2017 Pakistan has closed its border with Afghanistan, fired a barrage of artillery into its neighbor’s territory and staged a major domestic crackdown on militant groups, reportedly killing more than 100 suspects, in response to the deadliest terror attack in the country in years. It was the latest in
Khaama Press: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said the so-called Durand Line will never be recognised as [the] official border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking during an event in Kabul, Karzai said the line has remained a controversial issue between the two nations for many years, imposed by outsiders. Karzai further that Afghanistan’s reluctance to
Ayaz Gul VOA News December 22, 2016 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has decided to issue entry visas to Afghan nationals who want to visit the country for medical treatment. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced the decision this week during a visit to the northwestern Torkham border crossing where he inaugurated new immigration facilities. Despite prevailing
Ayaz Gul VOA News November 25, 2016 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Afghanistan denounced as “improper and provocative” a unilateral flag-lowering ceremony Pakistan recently introduced at a main border crossing with its western neighbor. An Afghan foreign ministry statement Friday warned that the Pakistani action at the Chaman crossing point violates bilateral commitments and “in the present sensitive
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 16, 2016 ISLAMABAD — The United Nations says around 370,000 registered and undocumented Afghan refugees have returned home from neighboring Pakistan this year, with a significant spike seen since mid-July. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kabul issued the figures Sunday, saying nearly 52,000 Afghans crossed
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 27, 2016 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan says it has completed construction of “20 percent” of outposts being established along a largely porous border with Afghanistan, and called for the strife-torn country to take matching steps for deterring terrorist infiltration. The two uneasy neighbors share a nearly 2,600 kilometer rugged mountainous frontier,
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 11, 2016 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has rejected fresh calls by Afghanistan to allow the conflict-ridden landlocked country to engage in direct trade with India through its land routes, citing existing official arrangements between Islamabad and Kabul. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, before his upcoming official visit to New Delhi, has threatened to
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 6, 2016 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan’s military chief, General Raheel Sharif, reiterated Tuesday that peace in Afghanistan was “vital” to his country’s own interest, and he called for better management of their shared border. “We are sincerely playing our active role for peace in Afghanistan,” he told a ceremony arranged at
Ayaz Gul VOA News September 1, 2016 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan says it reopened a busy border crossing with Afghanistan for routine traffic after Kabul apologized over the burning of the Pakistani flag by angry Afghan protesters. The southwestern Chaman crossing was closed two weeks ago after the anti-Pakistan rally on the Afghan side of the border
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 31, 2016 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan will reopen a southwestern border crossing with Afghanistan for routine traffic on Thursday after days of closure, stranding thousands of travelers and trade convoys on both sides, officials said. The Chaman border facility was closed about two weeks ago when Afghans staged an anti-Pakistan demonstration