ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s top diplomat on Saturday announced that Islamabad is likely to open its border with Afghanistan for humanitarian aid to allow UN humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Ishaq Dar, deputy premier and foreign minister, said he got a request from the UN to allow humanitarian assistance into Afghanistan, as the border crossing has been closed between the two countries since last month amid border clashes.

"I spoke to the army chief, and he has expressed his consent, now I will discuss with Prime Minister (Shehbaz Sharif) as he is abroad and hopefully by tomorrow we will make an announcement," said Dar.

Earlier this month, Pakistan reopened the two main border crossings of Torkham and Chaman for Afghan refugees, but they remained closed for commercial movement.

The Torkham crossing, connecting Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, as well as the Chaman border in the southwestern Balochistan province, which connects to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, both closed on Oct. 12 for all types of movement following deadly clashes between the countries.