Islamabad: The Pakistani army has clashed with Afghan civilians protesting on the Chaman border against the closure of the border area by the Taliban. The confrontation was so serious that the Pakistani army fired tear gas shells at the Afghan civilians. The clash began when a 56-year-old Afghan passenger died of a heart attack as he waited in the dusty heat to enter Afghanistan via the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported. Was doing.
The protesters took the body of the deceased to a local Pakistani government office, demanding the reopening of the border. Some started pelting stones at the security forces, in response to which the Pakistani army fired tear gas shells and also lathi-charged the protesters to disperse them. According to Dawn’s report, no one has been reported injured.
On 6 August, the Taliban announced the closure of the border, as Islamabad ended visa-free travel for Afghans. The Taliban captured the Chaman crossing last month as part of their offensive against Afghanistan’s government security forces.
The Chaman-Spin Boulder crossing is the second busiest entry point to Afghanistan and the main commercial route to Pakistan. Before the Taliban took over the border, around 900 trucks passed through the Chaman-Spin boulder crossing daily.
