Islamabad, Oct 23 (EFE).- Protests continued for a third day near a border crossing on Monday against the Pakistan government’s restrictive travel policy for Afghanistan.

Chaman (Pakistan), 21/10/2023.- Traders gather to protest after the Pakistani authorities introduced the 'one-document regime' policy that requires all Afghan citizens, from November 2023, to present a valid passport and visa upon entrance, in Chaman, near the Afghan border in Pakistan, 21 October 2023. Beginning in November 2023, all Afghan nationals entering Pakistan will need to show a valid passport and visa. The new 'one document regime' policy replaces previous special travel permit allowances for divided tribes along the 2,600-km border. This move primarily affects tribes in southern Afghanistan, who regularly cross the border for work or family visits using a local document called a 'tazkira'. The change follows a nationwide crackdown on illegal Afghan immigrants in Pakistan and the announcement that the Pakistani government will deport illegal immigrants. The new regulations will likely affect around 1 million Afghans, including those fleeing Taliban rule. Amnesty International has criticized Pakistan's treatment of Afghan refugees, calling for international attention to their plight. (Protestas, Afganistán) EFE/EPA/AKHTER GULFAM

The government has said it would allow people to cross the border only if they carried passports and valid visas from Nov. 1, the day when Pakistan intends to start deporting any living illegally in the country.

The decision has ignited protests near the Chaman crossing point, which is the second busiest crossing between the two nations, located in the Balochistan province.

Jaffar Khan, an official at the Chaman Deputy Commissioner’s office, told EFE that thousands of protesters have staged a sit-in around 4 km away from the border crossing near Chaman.

The protesters are demanding that the government reverses its decision to make a passport and visa mandatory for crossing the border.

Khan said the protesters are mainly Pakistanis who routinely cross the border for small-scale trade purposes.

Currently, there are no visa restrictions for Afghans or Pakistanis residing along the border.

People from both sides frequently engage in trade, moving goods across the border without requiring visas.

The decision prompted workers and supporters of various local trade unions to stage sit-in protests.

They strongly oppose the new entry and exit requirements via passports.

“We do not accept entry or exit through passports and want the old way of trade of carrying goods in hands,” Olas Yar, a spokesman for All Parties Tajir Laghri Itehad, told EFE.

He said the sit-in would continue until their demands were met.

Yar claimed that more than 25,000 people cross the border daily. “If the new policy is not withdrawn, all these people will die of hunger.”

He said people with relatives living on both sides of the border would be affected by the new visa policy.

Balochistan government spokesperson Jan Achakzai contended that the protesters were engaged in illegal smuggling activities.

He said that the government was trying to give them alternative employment.

“The government wants legal business because smuggling funds terrorism and provides financial benefits to 90 percent of smugglers and other networks,” he said. EFE

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