PESHAWAR
Key border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were closed on Sunday after fierce clashes erupted overnight following Taliban accusations that Islamabad had carried out air strikes this week, officials said.
Officials from both sides of the border told that crossings at Torkham, which connects Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Nangarhar in Afghanistan, and Chaman, more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) to the southwest, were closed.
A senior Pakistani official in Torkham told extra paramilitary troops had been sent to the area, which sits on the border between Kabul and Islamabad.
“The Torkham border has been completely closed for pedestrian movement and trade,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
“Security forces have also pulled out all civilian staff posted at the border, so they are not harmed in case of further firing,” he said.
Another Pakistani border official at Chaman, which links Balochistan province with Kandahar, the birthplace of the Afghan Taliban, said the crossing was “sealed”.
