Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan met Monday (today) in their first senior-level talks to reduce tensions at the Torkham border crossing
“A six-member Afghan delegation is being led by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai,” Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, adding that the Pakistani side was being led by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry.
Both sides are to review all aspects of border issues and will evolve a mechanism for better border management.
Read more: Torkham border clash should not be termed as a war: FO spokesman
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz earlier extended an invitation to the Afghan Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser, the FO spokesman said.
“Pakistan… looks forward to meaningful deliberations through a constructive engagement between the two sides with a view to promoting bilateral relations as well as peace and stability of our two countries, and the region,” the FO said.
Earlier this month, the Torkham border was closed due to the clash which claimed four lives on both sides had started because of a dispute over the construction of the border gate.
Read more: Pakistan resumes construction of Torkham border gate
It also left tens of thousands of passengers stranded on both sides of the border in addition to hundreds of trucks carrying cargo that was also held up.
Torkham is one of the busiest of the eight established crossing points on the 2,500-kilometre-long porous border between the two countries, which is used by some 25,000 travellers every day.
A diplomatic push to end the Pak-Afghan row over the construction of the border gate bore fruit on Saturday when Pakistan reopened the Torkham border crossing for traffic a week after skirmishes forced the closure.
Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan met Monday in their first senior-level talks to reduce tensions at the Torkham border crossing.
Read more: Torkham crossing reopens as Pakistan, Afghanistan come to terms
