Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to reopen border crossing

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to reopen one of its busiest border crossings after 14 days of closure that caused huge financial losses to traders and badly affected the cross-border movement, officials said.

Pakistan shut the Chaman border in southwestern Balochistan Province on Aug. 18 after some demonstrators torched a Pakistani flag at the Afghan border town of Spinboldak.

Security officials of the two sides had been involved in a series of meetings and agreed to reopen the border on Thursday, spokesman for the Pakistani paramilitary force Frontier Corps Khan Wasay said on the phone from Quetta.

"I can confirm that the Pakistani and Afghan officials have agreed on the reopening of the border on Thursday," the spokesman told Xinhua.

Wasay said both sides also agreed that border officials will hold a "flag-meeting" every month to avoid any problem at the border and to work for the removal of the mistrust.

Afghan embassy sources also confirmed the border re-opening.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share nearly 2,600 km of border, mostly porous. There are several official crossings including Chaman which is called "Friendship Gate."

Chaman is the second largest crossing after Torkham. Thousands cross the border every day.

Locals in Chaman say hundreds of vehicles are stuck up on both sides of the border during the closure, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars losses to the traders, mostly Afghan exporters of fresh fruit.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries' deputy chief Khan Jan Alokozay was quoted by reports as saying that importers have to pay 200 U.S. dollars daily per container, which are stuck on both sides of the border. Endit