Afghan officials have issued a written apology to Pakistan over the August 18 incident at the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate, security officials said on Wednesday.
Tensions had flared at the border after angry protestors had desecrated the Pakistani flag. The border had remained closed following the incident.
During the fifth flag meeting between Pakistan and Afghan border forces, Afghan General Muhammad Ali said the incident was a misunderstanding. He added that those involved were enemies of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Lt. General Muhammad Chengaiz who said the border would open at 8 AM on Thrursday.
Trade activities at Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman got badly affected by the prolonged closure of Bab-e-Pakistan Friendship Gate due to border tensions.
Earlier, Pakistan authorities shut down the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman on Friday after a group of Afghan demonstrators attacked the Friendship Gate at Chaman and set the Pakistani flag on fire.
Reports suggested that the Afghans were incensed by demonstrations in Balochistan sparked by Indian premier Narendra Modi’s speech on August 15, India’s Independence Day and they showed their support to India by disrespecting the Pakistani flag and throwing stones at the border crossing gate.
Afghan border forces did not stop people on their side from disrupting peace at the border crossing, forcing the Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary force, to close the border to avert any untoward incident.
There were long queues of vehicles on both sides of the border, with people on both sides facing problems as a result of the border closure.
