Pakistan to open Torkham border crossing from tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will reopen the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan for pedestrian and vehicular traffic on humanitarian grounds from Friday, after receiving assurances from the Afghan interim government that its territory will not be used against Pakistan, senior officials said on Thursday.

The border crossing, one of the main trade and transit routes between the two neighbours, was closed by Pakistan on September 5, following an attack from Afghanistan.

According to digital platform covering conflict and cross-border movement, The Khorasan Diary, Pakistan’s head of mission in Afghanistan, Ubaid Nizamani, met with senior officials in Kabul on Thursday and discussed the security situation and bilateral relations.

BREAKING: After guarantees from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Afghan Interim Government, Mawalvi Amir Khan Muttaqi that “Afghan soil will not be used against Pakistan” the Torkham border crossing will be opened for pedestrian and vehicular traffic on humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/iNCApRVIkf

— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) September 14, 2023

“Torkham border crossing will be opened tomorrow on humanitarian grounds but only on the guarantee that there will be no attacks from Afghanistan,” journalist Iftikhar Firdous told HUM News English.

An official said that Pakistan decided to reopen the border crossing on humanitarian grounds, as thousands of people and vehicles were stranded on both sides due to the closure.

Taliban request Pakistan to open Torkham border

Pakistan shares a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border with Afghanistan, which has long been a source of tension between the two countries.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants who launch attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan was one of the few countries that recognised the previous Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

It has said it will not recognise the new interim government until it is inclusive and representative of all Afghan ethnic groups.