PESHAWAR: Pakistan has named the newly constructed gate at the Torkham, the historic trade route and border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as “Bab-i-Pakistan.”
With the gate completed and named on Thursday, the flag hoisting ceremony on the Pakistani side has also commenced. The flag is hoisted at 6 am, signaling the opening of the gate, and is lowered at 7pm, with the border crossing closed for the day. The flag ceremony mirrors the one conducted daily at Wagah border crossing (between India and Pakistan).
It was deliberated earlier that the under construction gate be called Major Ali Jawad Changezi gate, after the officer lost his life in skirmishes against the Afghan security forces at the same border and in the clashes that resulted from the construction of this very gate. However, now the crossing terminal has been named Shaheed Major Ali Jawad Changezi terminal.
The name for the gate and the crossing terminal was decided in a high level security meeting, said sources. Clashes between the Pakistani and the Afghan security forces over the construction of the border gate last month left four soldiers dead on both sides, including Frontier Corp’s Major Changezi.
The clashes kept Torkham border closed for six days. It is one of the busiest crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan and is used by 15,000 to 20,000 people and hundreds of vehicles daily. Work on the construction of the gate and associated facilities began in 2014 but kept getting delayed because of Afghan reservations.
At least 10 border flag meetings have been held between local commanders since 2015 for resolving the matter, in addition to several other interactions at higher level. The Afghan government has traditionally opposed the Pakistani moves to regulate the border.
Meanwhile the Pakistani authorities insist that the border regulation is crucial for curbing cross-border militant movement in both ways. Under the new border management system, only people with valid travel documents would be allowed to cross the border.
Pakistan plans to have similar border control measures at all six major crossing points between the two countries on the 2,600km-long porous border. There are about 200 additional crossing routes but they are not as frequently used as Torkham because of their difficult terrain and absence of proper roads.