Afghan-Pakistan trade via Chaman suspended

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Afghanistan-Pakistan trade through the Chaman crossing has been paralysed by an ongoing protest in southwestern Balochistan province.

Bilateral trade between the neighbours ground to a halt on Tuesday, when participants of a month-long sit-in against Pakistan’s new visa blocked the highway leading to Kandahar.

The highway blockade in Chaman trade activities had been suspended through the Friendship Gate for the past 24 hours, local customs officials acknowledged.

Dawn quoted an unnamed official as saying: “Not a single truck… crossed into or returned from Afghanistan on Tuesday due to the main highway’s closure.”

According to the newspaper, hundreds of protestors have placed barricades and hurdles on the road to the Friendship Gate, refusing to let goods-laden vehicles to cross.

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