The government on Friday extended the mandated period of visas to Afghan nationals, days after Pakistan closed its border at Torkham and Chaman.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed the regional passport office in Peshawar to extend visas of Afghan nationals, reported Radio Pakistan.

In a statement, the minister said the step was aimed at facilitating those Afghan citizens who had arrived in Pakistan legally.

Pakistan closed the border at Torkham hours after a suicide bomber killed scores at a popular shrine in Sehwan Sharif. The Chaman border was shut later.

Torkham connects Pakistan to Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and Chaman is located near Spin Boldak in Kandahar.

The closure halted trade supplies to Afghanistan and increased tensions between the two nations in the wake of bloody suicide bombing across Pakistan.

The move was aimed at pressurising Kabul to take action against militants who Pakistan says have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.