Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Amid ongoing clashes between the Pakistan and Afghanistan border forces, the Torkham border remained shut on Thursday and the places of work and residential quarters adjoining to it have been vacated, in accordance with Dawn. 

The key crossing between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan had been closed on Wednesday after a gun battle broke out between border forces, with both sides blaming the opposite for instigating the firefight. 

According to sources within the border area, safety officers will not be permitting anybody to cross previous the Michni checkpoint, which is positioned near the Landi Kotal bazaar and has a commanding view of the border crossing, Dawn reported. 

They claimed that as of late on Wednesday evening, border forces had vacated all companies and residences near the border crossing. Additionally, transporters have been instructed to halt their strategy to the border till further directions. 

Both sides blamed one another for initiating the conflict. Till now no casualty has been reported. Disputes linked to the two,600 km (1,615 miles) border have been a bone of competition between the neighbours for many years, reported Dawn. 

The crossing has been closed a number of instances in recent times, together with a closure in February that noticed hundreds of vans laden with items stranded on both sides of the border for days. 

The dispute over the acquisition of land on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham continues as building work took up the pace to finish the challenge by the top of this yr, reported Dawn. 

In April, Dawn reported that the Khuga Khel tribe alleged that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with whom that they had initially signed an settlement on the availability of over 300 kanals of their collective land close to the Torkham border for the development of the terminal, had modified the designs and furthermore had taken their 400 kanals of land with out their consent. 

With the FBR opting to remain within the background, the tribal elders ‘pointed their weapons’ on the National Logistic Cell (NLC) because it was awarded the contract and current on the bottom to execute the development plan.