Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan's Minister of Defense, has once again supported the ban on travel without visas and passports at his country's border with Afghanistan.
Asif stated that international laws must be strictly enforced at Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan.
The Pakistani official said that this decision was made to prevent the entry of terrorism and smuggled goods from Afghanistan.
In an interview with Pakistani media outlet Geo News, the Defense Minister referred to ending the longstanding practice of visa-free travel at the two countries' borders, saying, "All crossings at Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan will only be allowed with valid passports and visas."
The Defense Minister of Pakistan also mentioned that they must ensure the security of their country and that these border crossings have jeopardised it.
These remarks from a senior Pakistani security official come amidst tense border relations between the two countries since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. In recent months, Pakistani border guards and the Taliban have exchanged fire several times.
Asif also acknowledged in this interview that terrorist attacks in Pakistan surged after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. He added that currently, terrorism originates from Afghan soil.
Moreover, Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan, following a rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
During the interim government of Anwar ul Haq Kakar, Pakistan announced that the process of allowing Afghans to enter the country without passports and visas would be ended and replaced with border regulations consistent with those of other countries.
The Pakistani government implemented its decision from November 1; a decision that sparked widespread protests in the Chaman area of Baluchistan.
According to the new decision by the Pakistani government, from November 1 onward, the "one document regime" will be enforced at all border crossings with Afghanistan.
The new decision by the Pakistani government marks the end of an era when travellers could cross the border with old documents such as those agreed upon during British India, national identity cards, and Tazkira (Afghan national ID).
Following this decision, hundreds of people in Pakistan held sit-ins for weeks in protest against the government's recent decision to ban the movement of migrants without passports and visas across the border.
