ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan announced that the country’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran will be temporarily closed on Thursday, Feb. 8, to secure the general elections.
According to a ministry statement, the closure will affect all cargo and pedestrian traffic across these borders.
The ministry added that normal movement through these international borders is expected to resume on Friday, Feb. 9.
This announcement aligns with a statement earlier this week from Pakistan’s customs authorities, who indicated that the border checkpoints with Afghanistan would shut down for a 24-hour period starting at midnight on Thursday.
The parliamentary elections in Pakistan, scheduled for Thursday, are occurring amidst concerns of potential security threats.
This decision follows twin blasts in Baluchistan, Pakistan, on Wednesday, which resulted in at least 26 fatalities and over 20 injuries.
Additionally, another explosion near a rickshaw in Karachi’s Gulshan Iqbal area, Sindh, killed at least one person and injured three others, as reported by Pakistani media.
