Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in Chaman on Thursday after Afghanistan banned private cars and motorbikes from crossing into its territory, witnesses said.The unprecedented ban, announced on Wednesday for what Afghan officials said were security reasons, triggered a protest by local tribesmen who said they would defy the ban. Pakistani officials stopped private vehicles about a kilometre from the border on Thursday and about 500 cars and bikes were dumped in a lot reserved for taxis, AFP reported. People were then crossing the border on foot. “This is the Afghan government’s decision and we cannot do anything,” said Colonel Nisar Khan, the security chief at Chaman. Pakistani tribal elders said they would hold talks with Afghan officials.