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Over $50 million damages incurred so far in massive border crossing fire
The enormous fire that destroyed more than 500 trucks at the Islam Qala port facility in Herat province, along the border with Iran, has left business owners reeling as financial losses are estimated to be over $50 million.
The massive fire burned for over 24 hours after a fuel tanker reportedly exploded at midday on Saturday.
Explosions continued for hours and two very large ones, just after 1 pm local time on Saturday, were seen from space, NASA reported.
The fire quickly spread through the facility destroying trucks and Herat officials, who were unable to bring the fire under control, eventually appealed to Iran for help.
Iranian firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze on Sunday afternoon, sources confirmed.
Health officials meanwhile said that at least 50 people who sustained burn wounds were transferred to hospitals in Iran.
The cause of the fire has not yet been established but officials said an investigating team has been assigned to the case.
Business owners however blasted the government on Sunday and said corruption among customs officials, the lack of standard regulations around vehicle checks, long border crossing processes and lack of facilities at the land port was of serious concern.
Younus Qazizada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said the fire had caused millions of dollars in damage. “Preliminary investigations show that more than $50 million of damage has been caused by the fire so far,” he said.
The Islam Qala border crossing is around 120km west of the city of Herat and is a major transit route between Afghanistan and Iran.
The US allows Afghanistan to import fuel and oil from Iran as part of a special concession that exempts Kabul from US sanctions against Iran.
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Saar: Revival of US military presence in Afghanistan discussed
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UAE president meets with Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani
President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday met with Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan’s Minister of Interior, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
The meeting was held at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi, and the two sides discussed recent developments in Afghanistan.
They also explored ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation to serve the mutual interests of both nations, particularly in development-related areas.
The two officials reviewed efforts to support Afghanistan’s reconstruction and stability, aiming to foster development and prosperity for the Afghan people.
Haqqani hailed cooperation between the UAE and Afghanistan and commended the UAE for its humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
The IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated Abdul Haq Wasiq, the General Director of Islamic Emirate’s Intelligence, is accompanying Haqqani.
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials to visit Kabul in hope of finding solutions to disputes
In the hope of settling ongoing disputes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur said he hopes to send a delegation to Afghanistan within two weeks to seek solutions to Pakistan-Afghanistan issues.
“The federal government talked about negotiations with Afghanistan over bilateral issues, but there’s no success. Now, the dialogue with Kabul will be held at the provincial level.
“A delegation of our [KP] government will meet Afghan officials within two weeks,” Gandapur was quoted by Dawn as saying.
He also said that a delegation of tribal elders from the province would also engage with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
He said he was hopeful that the IEA government would cooperate with the KP teams.
Pakistan has continued to blame Afghanistan for allowing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out attacks on KP soil from Afghanistan.
However, the IEA has repeatedly said they will not allow any group to plan or conduct attacks against another country from Afghanistan.
Gandapur meanwhile said he hopes the issues Pakistan has with Afghanistan would be resolved through negotiations.
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