The main border between Afghanistan and Pakistan was closed on Monday, officials from both sides said, and residents of the area reported gunshots near the normally bustling border crossing point.
It was not immediately clear whether Afghan or Pakistani authorities closed the Torkham border crossing near the Khyber Pass, but it came after a sharp deterioration in relations between Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban and Pakistan.
“The border is closed, we will share details later,” a spokesman for the Taliban administration’s police force in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar told Reuters.
Media reported that the border was closed on Sunday evening but did not give a reason.
Spokesmen for the Pakistani military, police and government were not immediately available for comment, but two Pakistani security officials in the area confirmed that the border had been closed and some gunfire had been exchanged.
Disputes over the 2,600 km (1,615 mi) border have been a point of contention between the neighbors for decades.