"On that side of the border, our widows, orphans, and patients are stuck", laments Mohammad Mustafa Rahimi, a week into the closure of Afghanistan and Pakistan's busiest crossing after gunfire erupted across the frontier. Islamabad and Kabul have been in diplomatic deadlock since border guards opened fire at Torkham crossing, halfway between the capitals, in a dispute over an under-construction Afghan outpost. Each side blamed the other for firing the first salvo last Wednesday, further souring relations which have been testy since the Taliban surged back to power two years ago. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES