Pakistan: Traders call for reopening of Afghan border

PARACHINAR, Pakistan – Pakistani traders have demanded the reopening of an Afghan border point closed last week after a deadly clash between the two sides.

Nazir Ahmed, a representative of traders in Parachinar, said Saturday that the closure has badly affected their businesses.

Last Sunday’s clash at the Laka Tega border post left five Pakistani paramilitary soldiers dead. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said earlier this week that the incident was addressed through “diplomatic and military channels.”

But Ahmed says labourers have sat idle for the past week watching their wares spoil as the Khar Lachi border point has remained shut since Sunday.

A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the border will only be reopened after the area’s tribes from both sides meet.