Pakistan opens border crossing for ailing Afghans to return

QUETTA, Pakistan – A Pakistani government official says authorities have made an exception for ailing Afghans, allowing them to leave and return home through a key border crossing that was closed following a deadly exchange last week.

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded gunfire at the Chaman border last Friday, leaving casualties on both sides, a rare escalation in tensions between the two neighbours.

Local official, Qaiser Khan, said on Tuesday the border will remain closed for everyone except sick Afghan nationals.

Pakistan said Afghan forces opened fire on Pakistani census workers at Chaman, killing 11 people. Afghanistan says the Pakistanis started shooting first and that two soldiers and nine civilians died on the Afghan side.

Pakistani and Afghan experts are now jointly surveying villages in the area to determine which side they belong to.