Residents of Chaman Protest New Restrictions at Spin Boldak Border Crossing
Residents of Chaman, located on the other side of the Durand Line, have once again launched a large-scale protest against the restrictions imposed on the Spin Boldak–Chaman border crossing. Protesters demand that travel through this route be allowed as before, without passports and visas, while preserving the rights of tribes living along the border.
Sadiq Khan Achakzai, spokesperson for the Chaman protest, told the media that today (Friday), local nationalist party leaders, youth, and thousands of Chaman residents participated in the event marking the renewed protest. According to him, this demonstration is a response to the continued restrictions that have severely impacted daily life and trade for people on both sides of the border.
Protesters insist that residents from both sides of this crossing should be able to travel and trade as they once did, using only their identity cards and national ID cards. They say many families on both sides of the Durand Line have kinship ties, and the new restrictions have harmed their social and economic relations.
The Spin Boldak–Chaman border crossing is one of the most important commercial and transit routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In recent years, the imposition of new restrictions by both the Taliban administration and Pakistani authorities has repeatedly led to the closure of this route and sparked popular protests; a situation consistently criticized by local residents and traders.
