QUETTA: The Taliban on Friday closed a key border crossing with Pakistan while seeking visa-free travel for fellow Afghan nationals to the neighboring country, officials confirmed while talking to Arab News.
The insurgent group captured the strategic border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province on July 14 after clashes with Afghan border forces, prompting Pakistani authorities to temporarily suspend all trade and travel between the two countries through the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate.
However, there was a resumption of border activities toward the end of July after the business community in both countries complained they were facing huge losses after dozens of trucks carrying Afghan transit trade goods from Pakistani port cities of Karachi and Gwadar got stuck in the country’s Chaman border town.
“Afghan citizens with Afghan refugee cards or Afghan national identity cards should be allowed to cross into Afghanistan without any restriction,” Haji Wafa, the Taliban shadow governor for Kandahar, said in a statement.
“The crossing will remain closed for pedestrians and transit trade until Pakistani border officials allow border movement from morning to evening and restore trade at the same level where it was before the Taliban took control of the Spin Boldak border crossing,” he added.
A Pakistani paramilitary official Ajab Khan told Arab News on Friday the abrupt closure of the Pak-Afghan border had left a large number of people stranded on both sides of the frontier.
He added the Taliban had blocked the border crossing by placing huge concrete blocks on their side.
“Dozens of people who want to travel to Afghanistan are now stranded in [Pakistani border town of] Chaman due to the Taliban decision,” he said.
The Afghan insurgent faction launched a major military offensive across the country, mounting a serious challenge to the administration in Kabul by capturing several towns and key districts, after the United States announced a complete withdrawal of its forces earlier this year.
According to a Reuters report, the group captured the capital of Nimroz province on Friday where it seized the governor's office, police headquarters and an encampment near the Iranian border.
“The cross-border movements, including the Pak-Afghan transit trade, was resumed by Pakistan in the last week of July after the Taliban took over the Afghan side of the frontier, but the insurgent faction recently voiced its reservations over the border crossing procedures before refusing to allow any movement,” a local official in Chaman, who requested anonymity, confirmed while talking to Arab News.
President Chaman Chamber of Commerce Haji Jalat Khan Achakzai said the border closure had once again created significant problems for the business community in the two countries since trucks loaded with goods were piling up on both sides of the border.
“We have spoken with the business community in Afghanistan, and they are trying to convince the Taliban to reconsider the decision since fruit consignments from Pakistan, particularly grapes, are likely to perish on their way to Afghan markets,” he told Arab News over the phone.
Taliban close Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, seek visa-free travel for Afghans
https://arab.news/gbcb6
Taliban close Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, seek visa-free travel for Afghans
- A Pakistani business leader says Afghan traders are trying to convince the insurgent faction to reconsider its decision
- The Taliban captured the strategic border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province on July 14 after clashes with Afghan border forces
Pakistan, China to sign multiple MoUs at major agriculture investment conference today
- Hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani firms to attend Islamabad event
- Conference seen as part of expanding CPEC ties into agriculture, trade
KARACHI: Islamabad and Beijing are set to sign multiple memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to boost agricultural investment and cooperation at a major conference taking place in the capital tomorrow, Monday, with hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani companies expected to participate.
The conference is being billed by Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research as a platform for deepening bilateral agricultural ties and supporting broader economic engagement between the two countries.
“Multiple memorandums of understanding will be signed at the Pakistan–China Agricultural Conference,” the Ministry of National Food Security said in a statement. “115 Chinese and 165 Pakistani companies will participate.”
The conference reflects a growing emphasis on expanding Pakistan-China economic cooperation beyond the transport and energy foundations of the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into agriculture, industry and technology.
Under its first phase launched in 2015, CPEC, a core component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, focused primarily on transportation infrastructure, energy generation and connectivity projects linking western China to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan. That phase included motorways, power plants and the development of the Gwadar Port in the country's southwest, aimed at helping Pakistan address chronic power shortages and enhance transport connectivity.
In recent years, both governments have formally moved toward a “CPEC 2.0” phase aimed at diversifying the corridor’s impact into areas such as special economic zones, innovation, digital cooperation and agriculture. Second-phase discussions have highlighted Pakistan’s goal of modernizing its agricultural sector, attracting Chinese technology and investment, and boosting export potential, with high-level talks taking place between planning officials and investors in Beijing.
Agri-sector cooperation has also seen practical collaboration, with joint initiatives examining technology transfer, export protocols and value-chain development, including partnerships in livestock, mechanization and horticulture.
Organizers say the Islamabad conference will bring together government policymakers, private sector investors, industry associations and multinational agribusiness firms from both nations. Discussions will center on investment opportunities, technology adoption, export expansion and building linkages with global buyers within the framework of Pakistan-China economic cooperation.
