Tajikistan reopens border with Afghanistan after 2 weeks

KUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): After a two-week closure, Tajikistan has reopened its border crossing with Afghanistan in northern Kunduz province for traffic to Sher Khan Port, an official said on Tuesday.

About two weeks back, Tajikistan police closed the main border crossing with Afghanistan, Sher Khan Port, and the highway between the countries for traffic.

However, Provincial Trade Union Head Syed Mujtaba Hashimi told Pajhwok Afghan News the Tajik police reopened the highway for traders and visitors on Monday.

He said the highway had been closed in Sher Khan Port due to unknown reasons by Tajik border police. “Only transit goods were allowed, but people and Afghan trucks remained stranded on both sides.”

Meanwhile, a trader in Sher Khan Port, Haji Fahim, said the border closure faced businessmen with serious problems. “The traders’ goods were stuck on the other side of the border for two weeks.”

The spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, Niamatullah Temori, also confirmed the crossing point’s reopening and said: “We have sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take proactive steps for  preventing such issues in future.’’

Although it is not yet ascertained why the highway between the two neighbors was closed, but some sources say recent mysterious killing of a number of Tajik border guards prompted the move.

sns/ma

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