CHAMAN, May 11: Only sick and old Afghans are allowed to cross Chaman border on humanitarian grounds as Bab-e-Dosti remains closed on the seventh day (Thursday) after the attack of Afghan forces on Pakistani census team.
Although the census activities are continuing in Chaman, but life has not come to its routine after the unprovoked firing of Afghan forces on May 5 that killed at least 11 persons and injured more than 40. The locals are forced to live in the temporary camps that have been built five kilometers away from the border.
Troops of Pakistan Army are alert at the border to retaliate against any Afghan aggression. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) supply line, Afghan transit trade and pedestrian locomotion between Pakistan and Afghanistan, all are still suspended. The stoppage of NATO’s supply line and Afghan transit trade have resulted in long queues of vehicles at the border, and traders are suffering losses worth millions of rupees. Fruits, vegetables, and other food items are have started rotting in the containers. -DNA