Pakistan on Wednesday announced to close its border with neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran as part of efforts to maintain peace on February 8 during the polling. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has made an announcement about the closure of the border.
”To ensure full security during the general elections to be held in Pakistan on 8 Feb 2024, border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran would remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians. Normal operations would resume on 9 Feb 2024, she said. The decision was taken as at least 30 people were killed in two back-to-back bomb blasts in Pishin and Qilla Daifullah areas of Balochistan which borders both Afghanistan and Iran.
Law and order has been an issue for Pakistan authorities as more than 120 million voters are set to use their right to vote on Thursday to elect representatives for the national assembly and four provincial assemblies of the country.
Pakistan has witnessed tense ties with both Afghanistan and Iran, as it accuses the Afghan Taliban for failure to stop the use of their soil for militancy against neighbours. With Iran it came to blows last month when both neighbours carried out air strikes against militant hideouts on each other’s soils.
(With agency inputs)
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