ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday closed its main Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the war-battered neighboring country, the Pakistani interior ministry said.
Afghanistan is battling a crippling third wave of infections, with a steady surge in new cases reported in recent weeks, putting intense strain on a country where millions already live in poverty and health resources are scarce.
From January 3, 2020 to July 5, 2021, Afghanistan has reported 125,937 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,283 deaths. As of July 4, 2021, a total of 915,671 vaccine doses have been administered in the country.
Highways from the Afghan capital Kabul and the Pakistani capital Islamabad pass through Torkham, the main border crossing at the end of the Khyber Pass.
“On the advise of the NCOC [National Command and Operation Center] all types of immigration departure and arrival will be close from today [July 06] at Torkham Border till the fresh Guidelines of NCOC,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in a tweet on Tuesday.
On the advise of the NCOC all types of immigration departure and arrival will be close from today at torkham Border till the fresh Guidelines of NCOC (Ministry of Interior) @OfficialNcoc
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) July 6, 2021
On Monday, the NCOC, Pakistan’s main pandemic response body, issued new protocols to facilitate approximately 3,000 students from Afghanistan studying in various institutions of Pakistan.
“Stringent protocols have been enforced which include return of positive cases back to Afghanistan, 10 days Compulsory quarantine at arrival and vaccinations at the end of quarantine period before joining their respective educational institutions,” an NCOC statement read.
