Chaman border crossing

The Chaman border crossing is one of the major international border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Located on the Pak-Afghan border, it leads north from the town of Chaman, Chaman District, Balochistan into Wesh, Afghanistan in Spin Boldak District, Kandahar province. More generally, it links the two provincial capitals: Quetta and Kandahar.

Chaman Border Crossing چمن بارڈر کراسنگ
Chaman Border Gate between Afghanistan and Pakistan
Chaman Border Crossing Show map of Balochistan, Pakistan Chaman Border Crossing Show map of Pakistan Chaman Border Crossing Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 30°55′20″N 66°26′41″E
Countries	Pakistan  Afghanistan
Provinces	Balochistan Kandahar
Districts	Chaman Spin Boldak
Control	Pakistan Taliban
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force at the time, is meeting with Pakistani army Lt. Gen. Khalid Wynne, commander of Southern Command, at the Friendship Gate border crossing, in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan.

At least 10,000 peoples cross this border on a daily basis for businesses in Wesh, Afghanistan and return home in the evening.^[1]

On 14 July 2021, the Afghan side of the border crossing was captured by Taliban forces as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive.^[2]

A brick, double-arched Friendship Gate, rising three stories tall, was erected in 2003. The gate facing towards Balochistan bears the words "Proud Pakistani" and "Pakistan First".^[3][4][5]

The official hours of the border crossing run from morning to sunset.^[5]

United States military presence

The Wesh-Chaman border crossing has been used by international forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan as part of a major supply route stretching from the Port of Karachi to Kandahar,^[6] with roughly 60 to 100 trucks traversing Chaman daily.^[3]

On January 18, 2010, ISAF commander General Stanley A. McChrystal visited the site after discussing the crossing's efficiency with Pakistani authorities.^[7] A US-run Forward operating base (FOB) was located in Spin Boldak, which monitored the border crossing along with the Afghan Border Police and the Afghan National Army.

References

1. Akhtar, Saadullah. "Thousands of Afghans enter Pakistan via Chaman border crossing". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
2. Sediqi, Abdul; Hakimi, Orooj (14 July 2021). "Afghan Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan in major advance". Reuters. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
3. Mekhennet, Souad; Oppel, Richard A. (4 February 2010). "Even Where Pakistani Law Exists, Taliban Find a Porous Border". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
4. Rizvi, Muddassir (9 December 2003). "Suspicion of Pakistan runs deep". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 10 December 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
5. Giovanni, Janine Di (10 June 2008). "Pakistan's Phantom Border". Vanity Fair magazine. Retrieved 26 November 2023. Note: Photograph of gate by Alex Majoli on p. 1 of story; account of visit on p. 5.
6. Roggio, Bill (9 September 2009). "Chaman border crossing closed to NATO traffic". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
7. "US troops surge in Afghanistan McChrystal inspects Chaman point to quicken equipment shipments". Pakistan Observer newspaper. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2023.

External links

Media related to Wesh–Chaman border crossing at Wikimedia Commons