Assalamu Alaikum - Torkham border partly reopens so Afghan families can return home
Assalamu Alaikum. Pakistan on Saturday partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan so thousands of stranded Afghan families can go back home, officials said. Other cross-border movement, including trade, is still restricted for now.
Pakistan had closed all crossings with Afghanistan on Oct. 12 after deadly clashes in which both sides said they lost many troops. The nearly three-week closure left thousands of Afghans stuck near the border and hundreds of trucks with goods waiting, disrupting important trade routes between the two countries.
The limited reopening followed an agreement to keep a ceasefire after mediated talks in Turkiye and Qatar aimed at stopping the conflict from spreading. Officials said no new exchanges of fire have been reported since the truce along the long border, often called the Durand Line.
Many Afghan families had been moved to a temporary camp near the crossing, while others waited along the roadside until the gate reopened. Local Afghan officials said the gate opened Saturday morning just for Afghan returnees, and they asked other travelers not to use the crossing for now. Footage from Nangarhar province showed local officials and Afghan soldiers greeting returning people with flowers as they crossed back into Afghanistan.
Diplomatic tensions surfaced when Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan raised concerns publicly about the stranded refugees, and Pakistan’s foreign ministry said issues should be handled through official channels. Since 2023 Pakistan has been working to deport those living there illegally, and over a million Afghans have been repatriated as part of that effort.
Earlier this month Pakistan’s military said it struck militant hideouts inside Afghanistan, and Afghan officials rejected those claims and said civilians were among the dead. Both sides reported military losses, which led Qatar and Turkey to step in and help reach a ceasefire. Talks in Doha and Istanbul helped produce the current pause in fighting.
Please keep the displaced families and those affected by the violence in your duas. May Allah grant safety and ease for everyone involved.
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