Authorities on Thursday sealed the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, reported Waqt News, amid growing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over border management.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Border closed with immediate effects till further orders due to security reasons.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 16, 2017
“The border has been sealed till further orders,” said a spokesperson for Frontier Corps. “Every type of movement has been restricted,” he added.
Pakistan says militants launch attacks from the Afghan side of the border.
The Foreign Office said it had summoned Syed Abdul Nasir Yousafi, deputy head of mission at Afghanistan's embassy in Islamabad, on Wednesday to voice concern about Jamaat-ur-Ahrar "sanctuaries" in Afghanistan.
The militant faction claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack near the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Monday that killed 15 people and wounded more than 80.
Jamaat-ur-Ahrar said the attack was the beginning of a new campaign of violence against the government, security forces, the judiciary and secular political parties.
"Afghanistan was urged to take urgent measures to eliminate the terrorists and their sanctuaries, financiers and handlers," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
