The two main border posts between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been closed as a security measure during Pakistan's parliamentary elections on Monday, officials said. The Torkham and Spin Boldak posts, used by thousands of people daily, were shut on the request of Pakistan and for the "smooth" running of the elections, they said.
Torkham closed late Sunday for all vehicle and pedestrian traffic and was due to reopen on Tuesday, the border police commander in the area Chitral Shinwari told AFP. Spin Boldak, further south, would be closed for three days to vehicles but would be opened on Tuesday and Wednesday for pedestrians, Kandahar border police commander General Abdul Razeq said.
"We have agreed with Pakistani authorities that the border be closed for three days for a smooth parliamentary elections in Pakistan with no security problems," the commander said. However, a suicide attacker blew up a car bomb near an international military convoy in a market area of Spin Boldak on Monday, killing at least eight civilians, police said.