Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday reopened a key trade crossing, officials on both sides said, after a row over travel papers as Islamabad cracks down on cross-border movements.
The Torkham border closure since Jan. 12 came after Islamabad imposed tighter controls requiring drivers from both sides to have visas and passports — documents many Afghans do not have.
Ties between the two countries have increasingly frayed in recent months, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban government of failing to root out militants staging attacks in Pakistan from their soil.
Photo: Reuters
Kabul has always rejected the allegations.
A Pakistan border official, who asked not to be named, confirmed the reopening after negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul, allowing hundreds of waiting trucks to cross.
“It was agreed during the discussions that until 31 March, Pakistani and Afghan drivers can cross the border without a visa and passport,” he said.
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“However, starting on 1 April, both a visa and passport will be mandatory,” he said.
Afghan Torkham official Abdul Jabbar Hikmat confirmed trucks were yesterday allowed to cross again “without the need for passports and visas.”
Pakistan’s casualties from armed groups hit a six-year high last year with more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants killed, Islamabad’s Center for Research and Security Studies said.
The biggest militant threat to Pakistan is its domestic chapter of the Taliban movement, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistani officials said tighter restrictions on trade and on-off border closures are a pressure tactic to get the Taliban government to work with Pakistan on security.
“Pakistan desires Afghanistan to adopt a tough stance against the TTP,” a senior provincial government official in Peshawar City who asked not to be named said.
“If they do not, the trade route will be intermittently closed for various reasons,” the official said.
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