ISLAMABAD (Dispatches) — Pakistan has decided to reopen border crossings and transit routes with Afghanistan following a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, marking an end to nearly 300 days of restrictions that have disrupted bilateral trade.
The meeting brought together senior government officials and business community representatives to discuss measures to remove obstacles affecting bilateral trade and facilitate the movement of goods between the neighboring countries. 
Participants stressed the need to restore normal economic ties and improve trade relations, while focusing on making legal travel easier and more convenient for citizens on both sides.
The decision comes amid a backdrop of severe border tensions between the two countries. 
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in violent conflict along their 2,500-kilometer border for months, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban government of harboring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which carries out attacks inside Pakistan. Afghan authorities have repeatedly rejected these allegations.
The border reopening comes as India has significantly expanded its engagement with Afghanistan, a development that has deeply worried Islamabad. 
In a first, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai, conveying India’s readiness to respond to Afghanistan’s development needs and securing assurances that Afghan territory would not be used against India. 
India has agreed to consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan, in addition to ongoing humanitarian assistance.
Pakistan’s UN envoy has accused India of backing anti-Pakistan militant groups, including the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army, describing them as Indian proxies carrying out terrorism in Pakistan. 
The growing India-Afghanistan detente, combined with Pakistan’s deteriorating ties with the Taliban, has left Islamabad increasingly concerned about encirclement and instability along its western border.