Torkham border remains closed despite talks with Afghan Taliban
February 24, 2023
- Taliban had agreed to open border during talks.
- Long queues of passengers seen on both sides of border.
- Pressure of passengers, trucks increased in past week, says official.
LANDIKOTAL: A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed for the fifth consecutive day due to unknown reasons despite various rounds of talks and the Afghan Taliban's agreement to reopen it, The News reported Friday.
Taliban authorities closed Torkham, the main point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.
The Afghan border security forces also opened fire and injured a Pakistani soldier at the Ayub checkpoint, located at the hilltop near the border.
A large number of passengers moved to Torkham from Pakistan and Afghanistan after they heard about the reopening of the border crossing. Long queues of passengers were seen on both sides of the border waiting outside the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and customs offices to get their travel documents cleared but they were not allowed to proceed to their destinations after the hours-long wait.
An official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the pressure of passengers and loaded trucks had gradually increased in the past week. He said they were looking to high-ups to formally notify them of the reopening of the border.
Meanwhile, members of the Tanzeem-e-Naujawanan Qabail arranged cooked food for passengers who had been stranded in Landikotal and Torkham due to the closure of the border. Most of the Afghan citizens were children and women.
Nazia Gul, 45, told The News that she had come to Peshawar from Nangarhar with her son and husband some two weeks ago. She said her son Hasrat, 10, was sick and they had admitted him to a hospital in Peshawar.
The woman said they had been waiting for four days with her ailing son and husband in Landikotal. She urged Pakistan to allow them to return to their native country as soon as possible. Several Afghan families travelled to the Torkham border but returned to Peshawar and Landikotal to stay safe due to the cold weather at Torkham.
