Afghan border remains shut; no headway in official talks.

QUETTA -- The Pakistan-Afghan border at Chaman, Balochistan, remained closed for another day after a flag meeting at Friendship Gate between officials from both sides failed to evolve a consensus over the reopening of the crossing.

On Sunday, the border at Chaman had been closed for an indefinite period after an armed suspect from the AfgAhan side opened fire on PakAisAtani security personnel at Friendship Gate, resulting in the martyrdom of one soldier and injuries to two.

During the flag meeting, the Pakistani officials, incAluAding Chaman DC Abdul Hameed Zehri, discussed with Afghan government officials the need for a 'joint mechanism' to put an end to incidents of violence at the border. Pakistan also suggested joint interrogations by both sides to nab the accused involved in Sunday's shooting.

'A joint mechanism would be evolved to stop such incidents in the future and both countries would cooperate in a probe in case of any future incident at the border,' a senior border security official told Dawn...