Islamabad [Pakistan], October 23 (ANI): A strike was observed at the key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday against the closure of the border by the Taliban, local media reported.

The strike was called by All Parties Traders Alliance at the Chaman border area after the closure of the Pak-Afghan border for more than two weeks, Dawn reported.

Also Read | Singapore Removes India, 5 Other South Asian Nations from COVID-19 Travel Restriction List.

Several rounds of negotiations between Afghan officials and border authorities of Pakistan for reopening the border have remained fruitless, the Pakistani publication reported.

A delegation headed by Kandahar Governor Mullah Yousaf Wafa also held talks with Pakistani authorities at Spin Boldak, but Afghan authorities refused to open the border until Afghan nationals are allowed to cross into Pakistan on Afghan Teskera (identity card), Dawn reported.

Also Read | Coronavirus Pandemic: Mutation of COVID-19 Delta Variant May Be More Transmissible, Says UK Health Agency.

Pakistani border authorities said that they had not closed the border at Chaman but it was a decision taken by Afghan officials in Kandahar.

Leaders of the All Parties Traders Alliance Lala Jan Achakzai and Sadiq Achakzai said the business community was facing huge financial loss due to the closure of the border for the past 17 days. They said prices of goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, had gone up in the local markets as supplies from Afghanistan had been suspended, Dawn reported.

"Thousands of daily-wage workers who earn their livelihood on both sides of the border have become jobless and they have no other means to earn their bread and butter," they said, adding that several thousands of Pakistani and Afghan nationals, including patients, had also been struck up at Chaman and the Vesh Mandi areas.

They said restrictions on the pedestrians on both sides should be removed and they should be allowed border crossing on the national identity cards of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Pakistani publication reported. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)