Torkham border gate has been reopened for trade vehicles after Afghanistan and Pakistan jirga members reached an agreement following several rounds of talks.

The border, which had been closed for 26 days, will reopen to the public on Friday.

According to officials from the Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce, several rounds of discussions were held between the private sectors of both sides. The extended border closure cost Afghan traders an estimated $1 million a day, chamber officials said.

Sayed Tayyib Hamad, spokesperson for the Nangarhar Police Command, also confirmed Wednesday that the Torkham gate had been reopened for trucks and will reopen for the public on Friday.

Pakistan closed the gate almost a month ago amid growing tension and subsequent clashes between border forces over the reconstruction of a controversial checkpost on the Afghanistan side of the border.

The move resulted in significant financial losses for traders on both sides.

Afghanistan and Pakistan traders have meanwhile appealed for authorities in both countries to separate trade from politics and said disputes can only be solved through dialogue.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif signaled Tuesday that Islamabad could conduct cross-border anti-terrorist operations into Afghanistan, and that Islamabad will pursue its enemy, “regardless of where they are”.

Speaking to Geo News, Asif said Pakistan had repeatedly asked Afghanistan to take action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses of orchestrating militant attacks against Pakistan from inside Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) however has repeatedly said TTP is not operating in the country and that they will not allow any individual or group to threaten the security of another country from Afghan soil.

Asif meanwhile also said that in some instances, Afghan authorities were providing shelter to TTP elements.

“If we have to resort to hot pursuit and enter [Afghanistan] to eliminate our enemies, we will do so. This is a matter of Pakistan’s national security, not friendship. A [lenient] approach will be detrimental to our security,” Asif said.

“We will pursue our enemy, regardless of where they are.

In addition to Asif’s interview, a meeting of Pakistan’s Parliamentary Committee on National Security was held this week to discuss ways to tackle terrorist groups in the country.

The committee, consisting of top civil and military officials, resolved to deal with terrorist groups with an “iron hand”.

This came after last week’s brazen attack by Balochistan Liberation Army militants, who blew up train tracks and held over 440 train passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security services in a remote mountain pass.

Pakistan said at the time that during the siege, militants had been in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan.

Helmand Environmental Protection Department recently opened a newly-built Zoo in the city of Lashkargar, in southern Afghanistan, in a bid to preserve the country’s wildlife.

The Zoo, which reportedly cost US$600,000 to build, is now home to 52 species of animals and birds.

Zoo officials said that during 40 years of war in Afghanistan natural forests were destroyed, and the number of wild birds and wild animals have dwindled.

Officials said by establishing the zoo, they hope to be able to prevent the extinction of some local birds.

They have however appealed to the government to take the issue seriously and support their efforts to protect Afghanistan’s wildlife.

Helmand resident’s have welcomed the initiative and have also appealed to the government to provide the zoo with support.

Helmand Environmental Protection Department officials said however that when the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) returned to power in August 2021, the authorities banned deforestation, and the hunting of wild birds and wild animals.

These officials said that over the past three years they rescued dozens of wild animals that were held in captivity by members of the public. Most of these were released back into the wild.

Afghanistan has long been known for having diverse wildlife but many of the larger mammals in the country are categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as globally threatened.

These include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, Siberian musk deer, markhor, urial, and the Asiatic black bear.

Other species of concern are the ibex, the gray wolf, and the brown bear, striped hyenas, and numerous bird of prey species.

Most of the Marco Polo sheep and ibex are being poached for food, whereas wolves, snow leopards and bears are being killed for damage prevention

Snow leopards, Siberian tigers and brown bears live in the high elevation alpine tundra regions while the Marco Polo sheep exclusively live in the Wakhan Corridor region of north-east Afghanistan. Foxes, wolves, otters, deer, wild sheep, lynx and other big cats populate the mountain forest region of the east.