or decades, Qadeer Khan, 65, a resident of Chaman district in Balochistan, has been crossing the Pak-Afghan border along with other low-wage workers (locally known as Lughris), bringing electronic goods and automobile parts to Pakistan and carrying food items to Afghanistan. “I was 12 years old when my father took me to Afghanistan for the first time. We brought back dry fruits,” he recalls.

Today business activities in Chaman, a tiny town on the Pak-Afghan border, have come to a standstill. “For the past year, I have been sitting in this protest camp along with hundreds of low-wage workers and small traders. The border crossing has been closed after the government implemented a visa and passport policy for travel across the border,” Qadeer Khan tells The News on Sunday.

Other protesters at the camp share similar accounts. Previously, Chaman residents could cross the border by simply showing their national identity cards. However, in October last year, the government banned travel without valid visas.

Small traders and electronic goods merchants in Chaman and Quetta say that the new visa rules have disrupted their businesses and threaten their livelihoods. They complain of declining business in Chaman. “We are left with no option but to migrate to other parts of the country in search of livelihood,” some say. According to some traders, 20,000 to 30,000 traders and workers used to cross the border daily for business.

The caretaker government in Balochistan had previously mediated talks between the federal government and the protesters. The traders had then ended their nine months old sit-in protest on July 21. They said they had received assurances that their legitimate demands would be met. However, on August 15, some daily-wage labourers resumed their sit-in, establishing a camp near the Friendship Gate on the Pak-Afghan border, demanding that the government revoke the visa and passport requirement.

Haji Mehmood Achakzai, a tribal leader from the border region, says the new policy has affected his tribe the most. “More than 10,000 people used to cross the border several times a day. My home is in Pakistan, but 90 percent of my property is in Afghanistan,” he says.

Pakistani authorities had previously allowed traders and workers from Chaman to travel to the zero point at the border and permitted Afghan workers to freely access the market. Residents say the Kabul government has refused to cooperate with the new arrangement. Officials in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province have said they would not open the Chaman-Spin Boldak gate unless Afghans citizens are allowed to enter Pakistan using just their tazkara (Afghan national ID).

The implementation of the visa requirement is aimed at countering the threat of terrorism. Authorities say the requirement was introduced after several incidents of terrorists crossing from Afghanistan to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil. Political analyst Jan Achakzai says that the Taliban regime in Kabul, like some previous governments, refuses to recognise the Durand Line as a legitimate border. Pakistan, however, views an unregulated border as a direct threat to national security.

To mitigate the impact of the restrictions on the local economy, the government has agreed to issue free e-passports at the Chaman Passport Office and the Balochistan government has promised maximum facilitation. Many traders and Lughris have reportedly acquired passports to resume business activities. An official said around 1,000 passports have already been issued. He said the government expected to issue 5,000 passports under the initiative.

Quetta Division Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, who frequently visits Chaman, says they have requested the concerned authorities to address the issue and are optimistic that it will be resolved soon.

To support small traders, the government distributed Rs 900 million among them last year. Commissioner Shafqaat says the approval of Chaman Master Plan and industrial projects are aimed at creating job opportunities for locals. He says these efforts, along with the expansion of the BISP programme, will help Chaman transition from an informal economy to a more secure and formal one.

Political analysts says that decades of unchecked movement have cost Pakistan dearly in terms of political capital, diplomatic relations, lost lives and financial strain. They say conceding unregulated movement across the border is unacceptable.

The government’s decision to implement a one-document regime at the international border, they say was long overdue. While reviving and strengthening the economy is vital, the urgent need to eliminate informal systems too cannot be overlooked, they say.

The writer is the bureau chief of Geo News, Quetta. He tweets @ejazkhan