A Breath of Relief: Hopes for Peace Along the Afghan‑Pakistan Border
As‑Salaam‑u‑Alaikum - Spin Boldak, Afghanistan: After a week of clashes, people living along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan are thankful for a new ceasefire and hope it will stop the fighting and bring back the vital trade that families rely on.
Although crossings are still shut, daily life is slowly returning: bakers are making bread, fruit and vegetable sellers are pushing their carts again, and customers are visiting shops.
"People can breathe and feel relieved. But before this, gunfire damaged some houses in our village," said Sadiq Shah, 56, a shopkeeper from Baizai on the Pakistani side.
Tensions rose after explosions in Kabul on October 9, which led to fighting between the two sides. Each side accused the other of responsibility, and both carried out strikes and counter‑strikes before agreeing to an initial 48‑hour ceasefire. New strikes followed, then a second ceasefire was announced on Sunday, bringing relief to many along the frontier.
"It's hard to understand - we're all Muslims, many of us Pashtun, so why would we fight?" Shah said. "We used to trade through here, and now we're shooting at one another. What kind of thing is that?"
'Losing money'
The border opened briefly this week to allow Afghan migrants expelled by Pakistan to return. At the crossing in Torkham, usually a busy route into Nangarhar, stranded drivers sipped tea and waited in colourful trucks.
A senior Pakistani customs official in nearby Peshawar said more than 1,500 trucks, trailers, and containers carrying cement, medicines, rice and other essentials are stuck at Torkham. Abdul Rahman Habib, spokesman for the Afghan economy ministry, warned that fruit and vegetables are rotting while awaiting export and that traders are losing money.
"If this continues, it could push up prices, increase unemployment, and unsettle markets," he said, urging that trade be kept separate from political disputes.
After talks in Doha, a ceasefire agreement was announced that, officials say, includes steps to build lasting peace, though the details have not been made public.
Locals voiced cautious optimism. Niaz Mohammed Akhund, a 39‑year‑old car salesman in Spin Boldak, said many families depend entirely on cross‑border trade. "People here are very happy with the ceasefire," he told us. A 24‑year‑old vendor, Nematullah, said he hoped the conflict would not return.
On the Pakistani side, market worker Imran Khan appealed for a lasting solution: "We need a mechanism to stop these fights and to start treating each other like brothers."
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