Pakistan reopens Torkham border crossing for repatriation of illegal Afghan citizens

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Khyber: Pakistan on Saturday reopened the Torkham border crossing to resume repatriation of undocumented Afghan refugees, a day after Islamabad and Kabul agreed to maintain peace during talks in Istanbul.

The repatriation of Afghan families from Pakistan was stopped on October 11 due to border clashes between the two neighboring countries.

Days of clashes prompted Pakistan to seal all its borders with Afghanistan to trade and travel before a cease-fire was broken in Doha on October 19.

According to Deputy Commissioner Khyber Bilal Shahid, the Torkham border crossing was temporarily reopened after 21 days to allow illegal Afghans to return to their country.

He said hundreds of Afghan nationals had arrived at the Torkham Immigration Center, where officials were processing them before allowing them to enter Afghanistan.

However, the Deputy Commissioner said that cross-border commercial activities and pedestrian movement will remain suspended till further notice.

After six days of talks, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban government agreed to maintain a ceasefire, Turkey’s foreign ministry said late Thursday.

“Further ways of implementation will be discussed and decided at a principal-level meeting in Istanbul,” read a joint statement about the talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar.

It added that the meetings were held in Istanbul from October 25-30, with the aim of consolidating the ceasefire agreed by Afghanistan and Pakistan in Doha on October 18-19.

“All parties have agreed to establish a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure the restoration of peace and penalize the offending party,” it added.

A day earlier, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi said Islamabad did not want further tension with Afghanistan, expressing hope that the Taliban government would not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan.

He had said that Pakistan had repeatedly provided evidence of “Fitna al-Kharj” and “Fitna Al-Hamandistan” activities on Afghan soil.

Commenting on the tension on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Spokes had said that Pakistan responded strongly to the aggression by the Afghan side. “Pakistan will defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty under all circumstances.”

Islamabad-Kabul tension

Since the Afghan Taliban government took power in 2021, Pakistan has been witnessing an increase in incidents of terrorism, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

The government in Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban government to rein in the terrorist groups responsible for countless attacks in Pakistan.

However, the Taliban regime remained largely indifferent to Pakistan’s demands and provided sanctuary to several terrorist groups targeting security forces and civilians.

Instead of addressing Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border terrorism, the Taliban government resorted to unprovoked firing along the border on 12 October.

The Pakistan Armed Forces quickly retaliated, killing more than 200 Taliban fighters and associated militants. However, as many as 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the border clashes.

Security forces also launched strikes inside Afghanistan, including Kabul, eliminating terrorist hideouts in the country.

Pakistan ended hostilities between the two countries’ forces on October 17 after accepting the Taliban government’s request for a temporary ceasefire.

Delegations from the two countries later met in Doha for talks mediated by Qatar, where they agreed to a ceasefire agreement.

Turkey then hosted a second round of talks in Istanbul, which began on 25 October and lasted until 31 October.

The two sides will meet again in the next round on November 6.