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Pakistan's military forces torture and harass Afghans who travel through the Spin Boldak-Chaman gate, according to Afghanistan-based news agency Pajhwok Afghan News.
The Spin Boldak-Chaman Gate also known as The Friendship Gate is located on the Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border). Passengers travelling to Pakistan say the Pakistani forces misbehave with them, keep them waiting for hours on different pretexts and extort them. The Spin Boldak-Chaman border between Afghanistan and Pakistan border is crossed by more than 20,000 people daily for trade, treatment and other purposes. Most of these travellers are residents of Chaman, Quetta and other areas on the other side of the Durand Line and Kandahar. Muhammad Ismail, who just arrived from Chaman in Spin Boldak through the gate, said the Pakistani forces had once again started torturing and extorting people near the gate. "Difficulties had never ended on this road, but sometimes the atrocities increase to the level where one feels hopeless. The Pakistanis harass people, insult them, delay them for hours, mercilessly beat them and force them into paying money," Ismail told Pajhwok Afghan News. Many people whose relatives live on both sides of the Durand Line also travel on the route. A resident of Kandahar, Juma Khan, said he has relatives in Quetta and they often travelled on the route to visit each other. "But we are disheartened by the difficulties created by the Pakistani forces on the way." "We have friends in Quetta, and we want to visit each other, but we face so many hardships that we regret travelling on the Spin Boldak-Chaman road. Both countries should provide safe travel facilities for people on this road," Khan said. He said the travellers include women, children and sick people, but the Pakistani forces showed no mercy to them and often took money and other valuables from women. According to Muhammad Akram, who carries passengers' goods on the road, so many porters possess both Afghan and Pakistani identity cards but are still subjected to violence and extortion by the Pakistani forces. Officials in Spin Boldak district, however, say there is no serious issue at the gate and people cross it normally. Haji Mullah Agha Jan, the Spin Boldak district chief, told Pajhwok: "Whenever a problem has occurred at the gate, we have tried to solve it through dialogue. We will solve any problem through talks if it arises." Only those having Kandahar and Chaman ID cards are allowed to cross the gate. (ANI)
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