Afghan and Pakistani officials Wednesday launched round-the-clock operations at a key border post, in a bid to boost bilateral and transit trade between the two countries.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan along with senior Afghan officials formally inaugurated the Torkham border post through which about 10,000 people cross daily.
“I consider this to be a very historic day,” Khan said, “noting that trade with Afghanistan had jumped 50 percent during the trial run of the 24/7 border opening,” Dawn reported.
Previously, the crossing remained operational for 12 hours only, which created disruption for truckers on either side and a difficult situation for patients that could not cross the border overnight.
Landlocked Afghanistan mostly uses Pakistani land routes as well as seaports to conduct international trade.
Habib Rehman, a local trader, told Pakistani newspaper Dawn that local trade between the two countries had decreased considerably in recent years adding that it would take some time to “reap” the benefits of 24/7 opening, as Aljazeera reported.
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