Pakistan-Afganistan Ceasefire, Thousands Of Refugees Return To Fill The Border

Illustration. Pakistan's Supreme Commander of the Army (COAS) encouraged the Pakistan Army Serang Mangla Corps. (X Pakistan Armed Forces News @PakistanFauj)a

JAKARTA - Pakistan on Saturday local time reopened its land border route with Afghanistan so that thousands of displaced residents could return to their homes.

Quoting AP, Sunday 2 November, the reopening of this border line after Pakistan and Afghanistan negotiated for nearly a week facilitated by Turkey and Qatar finally agreed to a ceasefire.

This deal quells violent clashes on the border between the two countries that could potentially be more widespread.

Pakistan has closed all of its border lines with Afghanistan since October 12 following armed conflict between the two sides that both claimed killed dozens of soldiers.

The closure of the border line, which lasted nearly three weeks, left thousands of Afghan refugees displaced, including hundreds of cargo trucks that automatically stopped major trade routes between the two countries.

During the ceasefire agreement, authorities said there were no more gunfights on the Durand Line, a 2,611-kilometer border route (1,622 miles) between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Local officials in Afghanistan said Pakistan's border gates reopened Saturday morning specifically for Afghan refugees, with thousands expected to cross back to the Taliban-controlled state throughout the day.