Pakistan again shuts border with Afghanistan

March 09, 2017 12:07 pm | Updated 12:07 pm IST - PESHAWAR (Pakistan):

In this March 7, 2017 file photo, Afghans wait to enter Afghanistan at Pakistan's Torkham border post. Thousands of Afghans gathered at the Pakistani border to return home on Tuesday as Pakistan temporarily reopened two main crossings that had been closed last month after a wave of militant attacks.

In this March 7, 2017 file photo, Afghans wait to enter Afghanistan at Pakistan's Torkham border post. Thousands of Afghans gathered at the Pakistani border to return home on Tuesday as Pakistan temporarily reopened two main crossings that had been closed last month after a wave of militant attacks.

Pakistani officials say authorities have again closed the two main border crossings with Afghanistan after a temporary, two-day opening that enabled nearly 35,000 people to cross the border.

The crossings were initially closed after a string of militant attacks in Pakistan last month killed over 125 people.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of failing to take action against Pakistani militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s border regions. Kabul has denied the allegation.

Border management officials Fayyaz Khan and Irfan Toor said on Thursday that the Torkham and Chaman crossings would be shut indefinitely.

The crossings are major arteries for trade and commerce between the two neighbors.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of failing to combat extremists who operate along the porous frontier between the two nations.

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