Pak-Afghan border will be opened as soon as border forces including FC and Political Agents receive written instructions from the competent authority. Defence sources toldBusiness Recorder that the armed forces deputed at Pak-Afghanistan border have not yet received any written official directives from Prime Minister's Office for opening the border which is manned by Frontier corps (FC), Custom and Immigration.

Minister Nawaz Sharif issued orders on Monday for immediate re-opening of Pak-Afghan border and the press release was received in newspaper offices at around 1 pm. By 7:00 pm the border remained closed as FC and the political agent toldBusiness Recorder that they had not yet received any written instructions to open the border from the Prime Minister's office.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan have been traced back to anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister House, PM expressed hope that "the Afghanistan government will take necessary action to eliminate the reasons for which this step [border closure] was taken."

However, the decision to re-open the border is being taken as closure of the border for a long time in the backdrop of religious, culture and historical ties between the two countries would not be in the interest of the people and the economy. He said that the decision to re-open the border is being taken as a goodwill gesture. Prime Minister expressed hoped that the Afghan Government would take measures to address the reasons for which the borders were closed.

He further stated that Pakistan has reiterated time and again that durable peace in Afghanistan is imperative for peace and security in Pakistan. Islamabad would continue to collaborate with Kabul to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the two countries, the PM mentioned. Addressing a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that the borders were closed temporarily due to security reasons. "Sooner than later we will be able to open the border and resume the trading of goods and interaction of the people as usual," he said.

Zakaria's comments came after Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz met with Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar in London on March 18, to discuss tensions between the two countries. British National Security Adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant hosted the two leaders. The border was closed on February 17 right after the deadly Sehwan blast reportedly carried out by cross-border terrorists. All border crossings with Afghanistan were sealed soon after the attack.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017