…Torkham border officials said Afghan Emarat-e-Islami border police went out of control
TORKHAM BORDER: Torkham border crossing remained closed for all kinds of movements on the second day after Afghan border authorities first closed the border and escalated gun fire over the issue of an Afghan patient who was not allowed to enter Pakistan without valid travel documents via Torkham border, border sources said on Monday.
Border officials said Afghan Emarat-e-Islami border police went out of control when Pakistani border authorities not allowed an Afghan national coming to Pakistan for treatment.
An official on the condition of anonymity told The Daily Vendor that they not permitted an Afghan to enter Pakistan without proper travel documents on Sunday night. He said Afghanistan border police closed the gate for all kinds of movement as protest on Sunday night. He said on Monday morning all of a sudden Afghan forces opened gun fire at the Pakistani border security posts located along the borderline in Torkham.
Eyewitness said exchange of gun firing was continued for few hours that further tensed the situation at Torkham locality. a wave of fear spread among the citizens on both sides of that border.
Sources said as the firing started people escapped from scene to save the life. A Pakistani border security official wounded in the incident,sources said. He was rushed to Combined Military Hospital in Landikotal.
Meanwhile, local residents,Torkham labourers union and daily wagers staged walk for peace in Torkham border. They were holding white flags and chanted slogans for peace. Torkham labourers union president Farman Shinwari said Torkham was the place they were earning for their families. He said Pashtuns on both sides of the border were brothers and sisters. He said they have blood relations with each other.He urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to peacefully resolve border issues.
Torkham border was remained closed till filing to this report. Tousands of legal passengers and trucks loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables suffered of the border closure.
According to border sources large queues of loaded and empty trucks and passengers coaches were seen on both sides of Torkham border waiting for reopening of the border.
They said around 65 passengers have been also stucked in the pedastrian tube in Pakistan and Afghanistan since Monday morningbut they were not allowed to cross the border. Sources confirmed that several children and women were also among those srucked in pedastrian tube.
