ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday reopened the Torkham border crossing in its northwest for the return of Afghan refugees, local administration said, though trade between the two countries remains suspended through the border terminal since last month’s deadly clashes.
Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce fighting on Oct. 11 after Islamabad hit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan-affiliated targets in airstrikes in Afghanistan. Afghanistan said the attacks were a violation of its sovereignty.
The clashes caused border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Torkham in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Chaman in the southwestern Balochistan province, effectively halting trade and the movement of people between the two countries.
However, authorities reopened the Torkham border crossing for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees to their country for a day on Saturday, according to Mohammad Anas, a spokesman for the deputy commissioner in Pakistan’s Khyber district.
“Afghan refugees are present at Torkham and efforts will be made today to ensure the voluntary return of all refugees,” he told The Independent’s Urdu service.
In its report last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than 1.6 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have returned to Afghanistan.
Pakistan had decided in 2023 to deport refugees who did not have the necessary documents. Later, it decided that Afghan nationals with Proof of Registration (POR) cards or Afghan Citizen Cards will also be deported to Afghanistan. Around 75 percent of those returning from Pakistan were refugees who did not have travel documents, the report said.
A statement issued by the information department of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which is adjacent to Torkham, said the border has been reopened for refugees on Saturday only.
The border will be closed for other commercial traffic and passengers, it added.
Pakistan is a key exporter of goods, mainly fresh fruits, rice, flour and other edible items to Afghanistan, while it imports dry fruits and other scrap material from the country.
According to officials of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, around 3,000 containers have been stuck on both sides of Torkham and Chaman crossings, containing various goods.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan government spokesperson, this week told Khyber News that there are also Pakistani containers on the Afghan side that are loaded with goods brought from Central Asia.
“Politics and trade should be kept separate because this is causing financial losses to traders on both sides of the border and the goods in the containers are getting spoiled,” he was quoted as saying.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the administration in Kabul of failing to take action against militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which it alleges carry out attacks targeting Pakistan from Afghan soil. Kabul denies the allegations.
These attacks have caused repeated clashes between Pakistani and Afghan border forces, triggering frequent border closures. Both countries agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Oct. 19 which was extended on Thursday. Officials from the two countries are due to meet in Istanbul on Nov. 6 to firm up the truce and finalize a mechanism to keep militancy along their 2,600-kilometer porous border in check.
