Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/main-afghanistan-pakistan-border-crossing-reopens-after-nine-day-closure-source-2023-09-15/
The Afghan-Pakistan border closed for nine days as a result of a shooting between Pakistani and Afghan guards. The border reopened on September 15th, but the closing still had detrimental effects. People couldn’t cross the border and trucks carrying perishable goods were forced to turn around. The close was also particularly hard for Afghanistan, which is a landlocked state. Several Afghan refugees were left stranded in the heat because of the closure. Even after the opening of the border, several families still have had trouble traveling across the border because of delayed document processing.
The border closure highlights the tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, showing the effects that just a nine-day closure can have on businesses that are reliant on traveling across the border, not to mention the people stranded there with nowhere to go. Both economies are dependent on international business and importing and shipping goods which can be affected by a border close. There could also be another closure in the future as a result of this which may make more people weary of crossing the generally open border out of fear they won’t be able to return to their home country. Pakistan and Afghanistan are unlikely to make lasting peace because of territory disputes over Pakistan’s western provinces and there have been several skirmishes between them in recent years which have the potential to escalate if conflicts aren’t resolved.
All three pillars of international relations are affected by the closure. International security is affected because it’s the balance of Pakistan and Afghanistan doing what is necessary to keep themselves safe and to protect their citizens but also not prolonging extra security measures and interrupting travel. The border closure affects the international political economy because Pakistan is a major trading hub for Afghanistan due to its geography and together they both benefit from each other in their economies. International law is a part of the closure because the two governments must determine how they will go about settling the issues between countries which is also based on agreements that were set by the Peace of Westphalia. It brings up a conversation of the standards set at the conference for diplomacy and nonviolent mediation between nations and how that can apply to our world today to promote peace.