Taliban close border crossing with Pakistan, call for visa-free travel for Afghans

Chaman Lal Setia Exports

06/08/2021 14:03

By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Gul Yousafzai
    KABUL/QUETTA Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Taliban closed a key
border crossing with Pakistan on Friday, saying no one would be
allowed through until Islamabad dropped or relaxed its visa
requirements for Afghans.     
    The Taliban, wresting control of Afghanistan in the wake of
a withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops, last month
captured the southeast Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing from
Afghan forces.
    Pakistan initially closed its side of the crossing,
landlocked Afghanistan's second busiest entry point and main
commercial artery to the sea, before reopening it last week.
    But since the Taliban took control of Chaman-Spin Boldak,
Pakistani border officials there have begun enforcing visa
requirements for Afghans which previously were not as strictly
observed.
    In a statement on Friday, the Taliban statement called on
Pakistan to scrap all visa requirements for Afghans.    
    "(The crossing) will remain closed for all types of
commuting, including transit and trade, for both sides, and
pedestrians, until the Pakistani side leaves the gate open,
morning to evening, for Afghans holding [Pakistani issued]
migration cards or  Afghan  ID cards," the insurgent group's
shadow governor for Kandahar province said in the statement.
    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group's
leadership had endorsed the move, and on Friday the border had
been closed.
    Since U.S.-led foreign troops began leaving Afghanistan
earlier this year, fighting between the Taliban and Afghan
forces has escalated significantly. In recent weeks, the Taliban
have advanced rapidly on provincial capitals and targeted top
government officials inside Kabul. 
    The hardline Islamist insurgents have also taken control of
several border crossings, including with Iran and Central Asian
countries, but the crossing with Pakistan provides a significant
customs revenue.
    Ensuring it is open for visa-free travel would not only
curry favour with ordinary Afghans, but also shore up a route to
parts of Pakistan that have historically housed the insurgent
group's fighters and part of its leadership.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OQ0BP
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2P20IF     
    Afghan government data indicates the route was used by 900
trucks a day before the Taliban seized it.     
    The closure could impact import of medicines and other
essential goods as violence has sharply escalated in Afghanistan
amidst a pandemic, with the United Nations saying hundreds of
thousands have been displaced internally.  
    Spokespersons for Pakistan's Foreign and Interior ministries
did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
    Pakistani border officials at Chaman told Reuters the
Taliban had placed concrete barriers to block the road on their
side of the Friendship Gate, the crossing point between the two
countries.  
    Pakistan responded by closing its side of the border on
Friday, leaving pedestrians, passenger vehicles, and cargo
trucks stranded. 
    Many Afghans living in Pakistan have been issued migration
cards by Islamabad allowing them to stay, but those who want to
enter Pakistan today need to obtain a visa.
   Pakistan and the Taliban have long shared close relations –
though Islamabad says its support for the Taliban ended after
the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. 
    Western capitals and Kabul say Pakistan's support to the
Taliban continues and many of its leaders have safe havens in
the country – which Islamabad denies.
    Pakistan is considered key in convincing the Taliban to
participate meaningfully in the peace talks with the Afghan
government. 

 (Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul, and Gul Yousafzai in
Quetta; Writing by Umar Farooq
Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
 ((Umar.Farooq@thomsonreuters.com;))