Trucks carrying food and pharmaceuticals were again able to cross a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday, which had been closed almost a week ago by the Taliban authorities.
Torkham, the main border crossing between the two countries located 170 km from each capital, reopened on Saturday morning, officials from the two countries said.
"
The border post was fully reopened today at 6 a.m. today
," said Muslim Khaksar, an Afghan customs official at the border post.
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"
The immigration procedure and trade have returned to normal
," also confirmed Pakistani side Irshad Mohammad, a senior official in the Khyber district.
"
Trucks carrying rice, cement, building materials, medicine and other foodstuffs have been sent to Afghanistan
," a Pakistani customs official also said on condition of anonymity.
Some 1,400 trucks on the Pakistani side are still waiting to enter Afghanistan, he added.
The Torkham crossing point was closed Sunday evening by the Afghan authorities after the Pakistani authorities imposed new rules on people accompanying the sick.
On Monday morning, a shootout broke out between border guards from both sides, with each accusing the other of instigating the violence.
Relations between the two countries are tense and frequent scuffles take place along the border.
Islamabad notably accuses Kabul - which denies - of letting the Pakistani Taliban of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operate from Afghan territory, which have multiplied the attacks in recent months in Pakistan.
In January, a suicide bomber killed more than 80 police officers at a mosque in Peshawar, the provincial capital in the northwest of the country.
On February 17, a group of suicide bombers stormed a police headquarters in the southern port city of Karachi, killing five people.
These two attacks are linked to the Pakistani Taliban, which maintains close ties with the Afghan Taliban.
In addition, both countries are going through a serious economic crisis, with Afghanistan suffering from a drop in aid after the end of the US-backed occupation, and Pakistan being crippled by a recession and a crisis of changes that put it on the brink of bankruptcy.
