After six days, the Torkham border crossing is open to freight vehicles.
A loss of Rs270 million in taxes to the national exchequer resulted from the suspension of bilateral trade at the border crossing.
PESHAWAR: Following a six-day lockdown, the crucial Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was reopened to freight vehicles on Saturday.
Border officials claim that the halt of bilateral trade between the two neighbours cost the national exchequer Rs270 million in lost taxes.
Thousands of freight vehicles were also stranded as a result of the border crossing’s closure.
Torkham, which serves as the primary crossing point for people and cargo travelling between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan, was shut down earlier this week by Taliban authorities.
Up to 6,000 vehicles carrying supplies had become stranded on both borders, according to Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Trade and Industry.
Thousands of vehicles were able to carry in necessities on February 23 after the Afghan Taliban reopened the Pakistani border crossing, according to officials.
The supply of necessities had been severely hampered by the closing of the Torkham border crossing, a crucial route for trade and transit between the two nations.
A day after a high-level Pakistani team, led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, visited Kabul to discuss security and other issues, the Afghan Taliban decided to reopen the border crossing.
Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Foreign Secretary Asad Majid, and Special Envoy on Afghanistan Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq accompanied Asif on the surprise visit to the Afghan capital.
