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PESHAWAR: Overnight clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the main border crossing between the countries caused thousands of people to flee their homes but the situation had calmed down by Tuesday morning, residents and officials said.

The conflict started on Monday, the first working day of Ramadan, when food imports from Pakistan usually peak in Afghanistan.

Around 15,000 local residents fled to Landi Kotal due to the clashes, an official said. Afghan border guards had opened fire without warning, targeting government buildings and civilians, and causing widespread panic.

“The tensions between the two countries and continuous closure of the border has been causing multiple problems to the people of the border area. People are very poor and dependent on their businesses related to the border,” Ali Shinwari, who lives in the border town, told Reuters.

Relatives and tribesmen in a nearby town have been hosting dozens of relatives since the border closure, he added.

The Torkham crossing has been shut since February 21 due to a dispute over the construction of a border-area outpost by Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

The Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday one Taliban fighter was killed and two injured, while Pakistani security officials reported that members of their forces had also been wounded.

The Torkham crossing is the main transit artery for travelers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Trade between the countries was worth over $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Pakistan’s foreign office.

The closure has stranded 5,000 trucks filled with essential goods and caused at least $15 million in losses, said Yousaf Afridi, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries for Pakistan’s Khyber district where the Torkham crossing is located.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari sought joint ventures with Kyrgyzstan in renewable energy, state-run media reported on Tuesday, amid Islamabad’s push to resolve its prolonged energy crisis through collaboration with international partners. 
Pakistan has suffered from an energy crisis that stems largely from a gap its energy supplies and electricity demand. The cash-strapped country lacks adequate resources to run its oil-and-gas powered plants and imports most of its energy needs. Similar to Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan also has large but untapped potential for renewable energy, including hydropower, solar and wind. 
According to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) 2022 yearly report, Pakistan’s total installed power generation capacity is 43,775 MW, of which 59 percent of energy comes from thermal (fossil fuels), 25 percent from hydro, 7 percent from renewable (wind, solar and biomass) and 9 percent from nuclear energy resources. 
“Talking to Ambassador Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan Avazbek Atakhanov in Islamabad, he [Leghari] emphasized the potential for joint ventures in renewable energy,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 
Leghari invited Kyrgyz investors to explore opportunities in Pakistan’s energy sector. He briefed the ambassador on the ongoing reforms being undertaken by the government in the power sector, which the minister said was aimed at improving efficiency and sustainability.
“The Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan appreciated Pakistan’s reform efforts in the energy sector and expressed his country’s willingness to collaborate in areas of mutual interest,” Radio Pakistan said. 
The Kyrgyz ambassador noted that enhanced cooperation in power infrastructure and energy connectivity would contribute to regional stability and economic growth, the state broadcaster added. 
Pakistan has been eagerly pushing to leverage its strategic position as a key trade and transit hub to connect Central Asia with global markets. Since last year, there has been a flurry of high-level visits, investment discussions and other economic engagements between Islamabad and Central Asian republics in a bid to achieve that. 
Pakistan is eagerly pursuing the CASA-1000 project, through which former Soviet republics Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who both have an extensive network of hydroelectric power plants, will be able to sell excess energy to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the summer months.
Last month Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif undertook visits to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan as part of Pakistan’s economic diplomacy push to enhance trade and investment with landlocked Central Asian states.
Uzbekistan is the largest consumer market and the second-biggest economy in Central Asia. It is central to Pakistan’s regional connectivity plans and was the first Central Asian nation with which Pakistani officials signed a bilateral Transit Trade Agreement (UPTTA) and a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) covering 17 items.