Tribal chief asked the Pak government to reopen border with Afghanistan

LANDIKOTAL: Chief of Zakhakhel tribe in Landikotal have asked the government to resume trade activities via Torkham border as closure of border would further increase hatred among the citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Malik Abdul Haleem Afridi, was speaking at a press conference held here on Tuesday said closure of the the border was not a realistic decision to fight terrorism in Pakistan. He said closure of Pak-Afghan border generated different kinds of problems for the tribal people. He said life was completely standstill on the border with Afghanistan as curfew was imposed along the Torkham border.

 The Zakhakhel tribe chief said the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan were culturally and traditionally dependent on each other. He said without peaceful Afghanistan we cannot think of a developed Pakistan. He said beside multinational trading companies and renowned merchants, around five thousands vendor sellers and taxi drivers have been deprived of their lone source of income.

Malik Abdul Haleem said unemployment and joblessness in Khyber Agency have reached to its record level in the history as all the shops, hotels, restaurants, private offices and custom clearing agencies had been closed down due to the closure of the border with Afghanistan.

“I am afraid that those who lost their jobs and businesses due to closure of Torkham border would be attracted toward militancy and terrorism, and would create law and order situation for the government”, said Abdul Haleem. He added that Fata people were also the loyal Pakistani citizens and should be given them free trade access to central Asian republics and Afghanistan via Torkham border.

He said local residents were forced to live under the poverty line as ninety per cent of the Khyber Agency residents had their import and export business with Afghanistan via Torkham border.

The Zakhkhel tribe chief urged leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan to revise their inappropriate stance of closure of the border as citizens of both the countries were badly affected of the wrong foreign policies.  

Abdul Haleem criticized the intentional silence of the Fata parliamentarians over the matter and said that they should have taken up the border closure issue with the Prime Minister to find a long lasting solution of the matter.