Pak shuts border with Afghanistan after allowing 35,000 to cross in two days

Pakistan has again closed the two main border crossings with Afghanistan after a temporary, two-day opening that enabled nearly 35,000 people to cross the border.

Pakistan has again closed the two main border crossings with Afghanistan after a temporary, two-day opening that enabled nearly 35,000 people to cross the border, officials said.

A Pakistani soldier keeps guard at the Friendship Gate, the crossing point at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman. (REUTERS)

The crossings were initially closed after a string of militant attacks in Pakistan last month killed over 125 people.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of failing to take action against Pakistani militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s border regions. Kabul has denied the allegation.

Pakistani soldiers check the identity of citizens returning from Afghanistan at the border town of Chaman. (REUTERS)

Border management officials Fayyaz Khan and Irfan Toor said on Thursday that the Torkham and Chaman crossings would be shut indefinitely.

The crossings are major arteries for trade and commerce between the two neighbours.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of failing to combat extremists who operate along the porous frontier between the two nations.