“If all goes well, other activities will be gradually restored,” says the government spokesperson.
A sign with a cross showing the pedestrian path is seen at the key border crossing as trucks carrying goods bound for Afghanistan line up, following clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces, in Torkham. PHOTO: ANADOLU
Authorities on Tuesday reopened a key border crossing with Afghanistan for the repatriation of stranded Afghan nationals after more than a month of border clashes between the two neighbors, which ended in a ceasefire ahead of Eidul Fitr earlier this month, a government official said. anadolu.
The Torkham border, which connects Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, was reopened a day after a “flag meeting” between the two sides, a provincial government spokesperson said.
The border, one of the two main crossings between the two countries, was closed in late February following intense border clashes and a breakdown in bilateral relations, causing major disruptions to trade and movement.
“At this point, the [border] “The reopening is only limited to the repatriation of Afghan citizens who have been detained for illegally staying in Pakistan,” the spokesperson said, declining to give his name.
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“If things go well, other activities, including commerce and general public movement, will gradually be restored,” he said.
Pakistan launched a nationwide campaign against illegal Afghan migrants in 2023, arresting and repatriating thousands.
The latest round of border clashes began in late February, following a series of deadly attacks across Pakistan by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists, for which Islamabad accused Afghanistan of harboring them and failing to take action against them. Kabul denies the accusations.
It came after airstrikes by the Pakistani army against suspected TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan.
According to Kabul, the airstrikes killed dozens of civilians, while Islamabad claimed that more than 500 TTP militants were killed in the attacks.
The two sides agreed to a week-long ceasefire on the eve of Eidul Fitr on March 18, following requests from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Separately, a large meeting of elders from Pakistan and Afghanistan opened today in Peshawar.
Participants called for renewed dialogue between the two neighbors after weeks of escalating cross-border violence.
Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan share 18 border points, the busiest of which are Torkham and southwestern Chaman in Balochistan province.
