ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday there were no Afghan refugee camps along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan and 4,000 Afghans had entered Pakistan with valid travel documents since the Taliban’s takeover of the country last month.
The UNHCR has said up to half a million Afghans could flee their homeland by the end of the year. Many fleeing the country are believed to be heading to Pakistan, while another of Afghanistan’s neighbors, Tajikistan, has pledged to accept 100,000 refugees.
Speaking to media at the Torkham border crossing on Sunday during his first visit to the region since the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, Ahmed said he was at the border to show the world that no refugee camps existed there.
“I want to tell … world media in general that 4,000 Afghans have entered Pakistan with valid travel documents and a rather greater number of Afghans have returned to their country after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul,”the minister said.
“We will provide 21 to 30 days of transit facility to anybody aspiring to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan. After that they would be allowed to go anywhere they want,” he added.
Ahmed said Pakistan would not interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and would not allow anyone to use Pakistani soil against the war-torn nation. He also said Pakistan hoped the Afghan Taliban would not allow anti-Pakistan groups such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan to carry out attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil.
Responding to a question about Pakistan recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the minister said the decision would be taken by the Pakistani prime minister in consultation with the international community.
4,000 Afghans entered Pakistan with valid documents, no refugee camps along border — minister
https://arab.news/bufqz
4,000 Afghans entered Pakistan with valid documents, no refugee camps along border — minister
- Interior minister visits Torkham border crossing in first visit to region since Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15
- UNHCR says half a million Afghans could flee by end of the year, many fleeing Afghanistan believed to be heading to Pakistan
Pakistan cuts key rate by 50 bps to 10.5% in surprise move after holding for four meetings
- An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, with analysts expecting SBP to hold the policy rate
- Inflation remains within the bank’s target band, but analysts expect price pressures to rise later in the fiscal year
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent on Monday, the bank said on its website, breaking a hold on the rate for four meetings in a move that surprised analysts and came despite IMF warnings to avoid premature easing.
All 12 analysts in a Reuters poll had expected the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to hold the policy rate at 11 percent.
Monday’s reduction takes the total easing since rates peaked at 22 percent to 1,150 basis points, after the SBP delivered 1,100 bps of cuts between June 2024 and May 2025 and then held the rate steady for four meetings before Monday’s move.
Inflation edged down to 6.1 percent in November from 6.2 percent in October, within the SBP’s 5 percent–7 percent target band, with analysts expecting it to rise again later in FY26 as base effects fade and food and transport prices stay volatile.
An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, calling for policy to remain data-dependent to anchor expectations and rebuild external buffers, even as Pakistan received a $1.2 billion disbursement under its loan program.
