QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistani forces clashed on Thursday with hundreds of Afghans stranded on Pakistan's side of a commercially vital border crossing with Afghanistan after its closure by Taliban insurgents, Pakistani security officials said.
The disturbances broke out after a 56-year-old Afghan traveler died of a heart attack as he waited in the dusty heat to enter Afghanistan via the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing, Arif Kakar, a Pakistani official on the scene, told Reuters.
Protesters carried his body to a local Pakistani government office demanding the border be reopened. Some began throwing stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas and charging the protesters with batons to disperse them. No injuries were reported.
The Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing is landlocked Afghanistan's second busiest entry point and main commercial artery to the Pakistani seacoast.
The Taliban, who captured the crossing last month as part of a major advance across Afghanistan as US-led foreign forces withdraw, announced its closure on Aug. 6 in protest at a Pakistani decision to end visa-free travel for Afghans.
The hardline Islamist Taliban are demanding Pakistan allow Afghans to cross the frontier with either an Afghan ID card or a Pakistani-issued refugee registration card.
Taliban fighters have rapidly taken territory from the Kabul government in recent weeks, including important border crossings with Iran and Central Asian countries that now provide significant customs revenue for the group.
Some 900 trucks went through the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing daily before the Taliban seized it.
Opening the border with Pakistan for visa-free travel would not only help the Taliban curry favor from ordinary Afghans but also shore up a route to areas of Pakistan that have housed Taliban fighters and some commanders.
Pakistan and the Taliban long maintained good relations though Islamabad says this ended after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan that ousted the radical Islamists from power for having sheltered Al Qaeda militants who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Western capitals and the Kabul government say Pakistani support to the Taliban continues and many of its leaders enjoy safe haven in the country, something Islamabad denies.
Pakistani forces clash with Afghan protesters at border crossing shut by Taliban
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Pakistani forces clash with Afghan protesters at border crossing shut by Taliban
- The disturbances broke out after a 56-year-old Afghan traveler died of a heart attack as he waited in the dusty heat to enter his country
- Some 900 trucks went through the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing daily before the Taliban seized it last month
Pakistan reviews austerity measures amid Middle East crisis, urges strict nationwide implementation
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs review meeting of austerity steps
- Officials briefed on salary cuts, school closures, four‑day week, petrol conservation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Wednesday assessed progress on a sweeping set of austerity measures introduced to mitigate the country’s economic strain from sharply rising global oil prices and supply disruptions linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week announced a series of austerity steps, including a four‑day work week for government offices, requiring 50 percent of staff to work from home, cutting fuel allowances for official vehicles by half, grounding up to 60 percent of the government fleet and closing all schools for two weeks to conserve fuel amid the global oil crisis.
The measures were unveiled in response to global oil market volatility triggered by the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has disrupted supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices sharply higher, straining Pakistan’s heavily import‑dependent energy sector.
“The meeting stressed the importance of strict and transparent adherence to the austerity measures, promoting fiscal responsibility and prudent use of public resources,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a statement.
He was chairing a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, constituted under the directions of the PM, bringing together federal and provincial officials to review execution of the broad cost‑cutting plan.
Dar emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing the PM’s austerity steps nationwide. The committee’s review also covered reductions in departmental expenditure, deductions from salaries of senior officials earning over Rs. 300,000 ($1,120), and coordination with provincial administrations to ensure uniform implementation of the plan.
Participants at the meeting reiterated that all ministries and divisions must continue strict monitoring and reporting, with transparent oversight mechanisms, as Pakistan navigates the economic pressures from the prolonged Middle East crisis and its fallout on global energy and trade markets.
