The Afghan government closed the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan on Wednesday, allegedly in opposition to the installation of a "Welcome to Pakistan" signboard at the crossing's Zero Point, media reports.
Due to a verbal altercation between border security forces from both countries, the Torkham border is currently closed to travellers and traffic.
A major trade route, the crossing at Torkham is where Afghanistan imports food and other supplies from Pakistan and exports truckloads of coal.
Similar to this, in September, border patrols between Pakistan and Afghanistan were shut down for two days due to gunfire, which each side claimed was initiated by the other.
The closure of the Torkham border occurred at a time when ties between the two nations are still tense, with Pakistan pressuring Afghanistan to restrict the movements of armed attackers and prevent them from entering its territory.
However, Afghanistan denies the claim that it permits armed groups to conduct attacks on other countries from its territory.
Pakistan's accusation comes following a spike in violent attacks in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan after the Taliban* took over in 2021. The majority of these assaults are attributed to the banned Pakistani Taliban**, commonly abbreviated as TTP, who share ideological affinities with the Afghan Taliban.
The most recent action taken by the Pakistani government to repatriate Afghans who do not possess a visa or refugee status has compounded the bilateral relations between the two countries and caused tensions.
*The Taliban is under UN sanctions for extremism.
*The Taliban is under UN sanctions for extremism.
**Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - a terrorist organization banned in Russia and India.