Kabul, Aug 13 (IANS) Pakistani forces clashed with hundreds of Afghans stranded on the Pakistan side of a commercially vital crossing point with Afghanistan after its closure by the Taliban, a global news wire quoted Pakistani security officials as saying.
The disturbances broke out after a 56-year-old Afghan traveller died of a heart attack as he waited in the dusty heat to enter Afghanistan via the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing.
According to the report, the protesters carried his body to a local Pakistani government office demanding the border be reopened.
Some began throwing stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas shells and charging the protesters with batons to disperse them. No injuries were reported.
The Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing is landlocked between Afghanistan’s second busiest entry point and the main commercial artery to the Pakistani seacoast.
The Taliban had captured the Spin Boldak district last month. They announced the closure of the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing on August 6 in protest against a Pakistani decision to end visa-free travel for Afghans.
The group is demanding that Pakistan should allow Afghans to cross the frontier with either an Afghan ID card or a refugee registration card issued by Pakistan.
According to the report, some 900 trucks used to pass through the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing daily before the the Taliban seized it.
