TAND – Saturday, November 29
Pakistan’s senior foreign affairs official announced on Saturday that Islamabad may open its border with Afghanistan for the delivery of humanitarian aid, allowing United Nations assistance to reach the Afghan people.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a press conference in Islamabad that the United Nations had requested permission to transport humanitarian aid into Afghanistan.
All crossing points between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained closed for more than one and a half months.
Pakistan shut these routes as a pressure tactic, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses to traders of both countries. Following this, the Taliban government in Afghanistan announced that it would not reopen the routes with Pakistan unless Islamabad provides firm guarantees that border closures or openings will not be repeated due to political or military reasons, and that commercial routes will remain open under all circumstances.
Dar said: “I have spoken to the army chief, and he has expressed his agreement. Now I will consult with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is abroad, and hopefully by tomorrow we will announce a decision.”
Under the current situation, Pakistan is only allowing Afghan refugees to return through the Torkham and Chaman crossings, while all commercial traffic remains suspended.
Meanwhile, some unconfirmed reports suggest that Pakistan discussed the reopening of the crossings with the Taliban government last week, but the Taliban did not agree. The Taliban’s position is that Afghanistan’s fruit-export season has already ended, while now it is the season for Pakistan’s fruit and other commercial exports; therefore, reopening the routes at this stage is not a priority for Afghanistan.
So far, the Taliban government has not issued an official response to Ishaq Dar’s latest remarks, and it remains unclear what Afghanistan’s reaction will be if Pakistan unilaterally announces the reopening of the routes.
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