IEA-MoFA reacts to Pakistan’s decision to make passports and visas compulsory for movement on Chaman border

KABUL, Nov. 07 – People living in Spin Boldak-Chaman region, & in general all people living across the entirety of Af-Pak line maintain deep religious, ethnic, linguistic, kinship & business ties, said Abdul Qahar Balkhi the spokesman of Foreign Ministry.

Despite some historic impositions, the governments have always respected and afforded special rights to the people of this region. Against this historic backdrop and ground reality, the Pakistani government is currently seeking to make passports and visas compulsory for movement of people residing in Boldak-Chaman region, Balkhi added.

According to Balkhi, this decision, akin to the forced deportation of refugees, is a unilateral decision of the Pakistani government in contravention of the ground realities. This decision can create many problems for the lives of the people on both sides of Boldak-Chaman, and therefore, thousands of locals have raised their voices in protest and are engaged in sit-ins. The people of this region have suffered immensely from long wars and lost many opportunities.

Now that security & stability have returned to Afghanistan and economic momentum has been generated, the position & demand of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is that people of this region be allowed to move freely as before in order to play a positive role for the economic momentum of both countries.