Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered immediate reopening of Pak-Afghan border, Radio Pakistan has reported.
The order was issued as a goodwill gesture, said a statement released by the Prime Minister’s House, with Nawaz Sharif hoping that the Afghan government would take measures to address the reasons for which the border was closed.
The premier noted that the border closure for a long time in the backdrop of religious, cultural and historical ties between the two countries would not be in the interest of the people and the economy.
PM Nawaz said they had reiterated time and again that durable peace in Afghanistan was imperative for peace and security in Pakistan, adding that the government was in talks with Afghanistan regarding the elimination of terrorism from its soil. “Pakistan would continue to collaborate with Afghanistan to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the two countries,” he went on to add.
Earlier this month, Afghan Ambassador Omar Zakhilwal urged PM Nawaz to order the reopening of the border. “It will be the right message if Your Excellency instructs an immediate opening of our formal trade and transit routes between our two brotherly countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he had said in his speech at the ECO summit.
Pakistan shut its border crossings with Afghanistan last month after a series of attacks claimed by terrorists based in Afghanistan killed at least 100 people and injured 300 others.
