Pakistan
announced it had reopened a major border crossing with Afghanistan on Saturday,
more than three weeks after several people were killed when troops from
both
sides exchanged fire for several hours.
The Chaman
crossing into Afghanistan's Kandahar province was reopened on
"humanitarian grounds" after Afghan officials submitted a request,
according to a statement by the Pakistani military.
"It has
been agreed upon by Pakistan authorities that [a] cease fire shall continue to
be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable," the statement
said, noting that Pakistani troops will maintain positions along the border.
Afghan
officials were not immediately available for comment.
On May 5
Pakistan's military said a census team - guarded by troops from its Frontier
Corps (FC) - that was collecting population data in a village near the border
town of Chaman came under fire and at least one person was killed and 18
wounded.
At the time,
Zia Durani, police spokesman for Afghanistan's Kandahar province, said Pakistani
officials were using the census as a cover for "malicious activities and
to provoke villagers against the government".
Afghan
officials said dozens of Afghan and Pakistani troops were killed in the
fighting.
Landlocked
Afghanistan depends heavily on cross-border trade with Pakistan, not only for
daily resources, but also international humanitarian aid for hundreds of
thousands of people displaced by fighting and economic malaise.
Tension has
been increasing in recent months with each side accusing the other of not doing
enough to stop militants engaging in cross-border raids.
Last year,
Pakistan started building a barrier at the main border crossing in the town of
Torkham, near the Khyber Pass, angering Afghanistan which has never formally
recognized the colonial-era Durand Line border drawn up in 1893.
REUTERS*
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