The Ministry of Public Works said on X that the main Kabul-Jalalabad highway has been reopened.

The Kabul-Jalalabad highway was shut down for more than two weeks as major rock slides blocked the highway in the Pul-e-Charkhi area of Kabul.

The closure of the highway created severe challenges for the traders as products were stranded both in Kabul and Jalalabad. 

“The main highway of Kabul-Jalalabad was reopened for passengers and vehicles yesterday evening (Monday evening) as a result of the efforts of the ministry’s employees," said Mohammad Ashraf Haqshinas, a spokesman for the MoPW.

The officials of the construction company that were working on reopening the highway told TOLOnews that clearing operations on the highway were still ongoing.

“The mountain broke. Around one-third of the slide part has been dragged down and the rest of it still remains,” said Aminulllah, a worker at the company.

Meanwhile, some of the passengers and drivers expressed happiness over the reopening of the highway.

“The path was unpaved and created problems for us. The vehicles would become faulty. We are happy that the path has been reopened,” said Ahmad Munir, a passenger.

The MoPW created a new road beside the Kabul-Jalalabad highway, but the drivers and passengers complained that they were struggling with severe challenges as the new road was not paved.