Levies forces arrested 72 Afghan nationals who had crossed into Pakistan illegally from Afghanistan in the Chagai area on Tuesday, dawn news reported.

According to a senior Levies officer, the Afghan citizens did not have legal travel documents and were subsequently deported at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing at Baracha, in Chagai.

He said Pakistan had tightened security in its border areas with Afghanistan to curb illegal crossings.

According to officials, Levies and Frontier Corps personnel carried out 10 joint operations in 2024, resulting in the arrest of 3,826 Afghan nationals, including 2,779 men, 338 women and 290 children, from various border areas of Chagai district.

These Afghan families, who had illegally entered Pakistan, were sent back to Afghanistan after investigation. Levies officials said Pakistan is closely monitoring its border with Afghanistan to fulfil its commitment to preventing illegal entries, maintaining law and order, and combating illegal activities.

Pakistan had previously imposed a “one-document regime” system for border crossings between the two countries, which mandates that all movement at crossing points like Chaman be conducted via passports and valid visas.

To facilitate this, the government established passport offices in Chaman and Qila Abdullah districts. Around 20,000 people have already been issued passports under this system, with no fee charged for the service.

At least 71 people died in Ethiopia when a truck packed with passengers plunged into a river, according to the spokesperson for the southern Sidama regional government and a statement, Reuters reported.

The accident occurred in the Bona district, the regional communication bureau said in a statement issued late on Sunday.

Wosenyeleh Simion, spokesperson for the Sidama regional government, told Reuters on Monday at least 71 people had died, including 68 males and 3 females.

"Five are in a critical condition and taking treatment at Bona General Hospital," he said.

In a statement late on Sunday the regional communication bureau had given the death toll as 60.

Wosenyeleh said the truck had missed a bridge and fell into a river and that the road had many bends.

Some of the passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony and some families had lost multiple members, he said, adding traffic police in the region had reported the truck was overloaded, which likely caused the accident, read the report.

The state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) also reported that the passengers were travelling to a wedding when the accident occurred on Sunday.

Deadly traffic accidents are common in Ethiopia, where driving standards are poor and many vehicles badly maintained.

At least 38 people, mostly students, were killed in 2018 when a bus plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia's mountainous north.

The Political Deputy of Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, says protecting and defending Afghanistan and its people is the government's responsibility and that the Islamic Emirate seeks neither enmity nor war with anyone, but instead views stability in Afghanistan as beneficial to both the region and the world.

Speaking at the inauguration of Shah wa Arus dam in Kabul on Tuesday, Kabir stated that no external pressure could compel anyone to achieve their goals in Afghanistan.

"The Islamic Emirate is currently progressing well on both the battlefield and in politics. We do not want war or enmity with anyone, but we are responsible for the protection and defense of our people and our land,” said Kabir.

He emphasized the IEA seeks peace in the region and the world, and that countries should not blame IEA for their internal political failures to disrupt regional order.

He also stated the IEA will not accept any obstacles in the path of development and self-sufficiency and will continue its efforts, even though some countries may be unable to tolerate Afghanistan's progress and development.

Abdul Kabir highlighted that IEA aims to ensure regional stability through the implementation of large-scale regional projects.