Pakistan has partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, allowing thousands of stranded Afghan refugees to return home, officials confirmed on Saturday. However, restrictions on all other cross-border movements, including trade, remain in place. The border was closed on October 12 following deadly clashes between the two nations, which claimed dozens of lives on both sides. The nearly three-week closure left thousands of refugees and hundreds of trucks carrying goods stranded, disrupting vital trade routes. The reopening follows a ceasefire agreement reached after negotiations facilitated by Turkey and Qatar, aimed at preventing further escalation in the region. Since the ceasefire along the 2,611-kilometer Durand Line—a border Afghanistan has never formally recognized—no new exchange of fire has been reported. Thousands of refugees had been relocated to a temporary camp near the border, with many more waiting along the roadside. Despite the partial reopening, trade remains suspended. Local Afghan officials confirmed the gate was opened exclusively for refugees, with thousands expected to cross back into Afghanistan. The reopening comes amid heightened tensions, including Pakistan’s recent airstrikes on Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, which Afghan officials claim killed civilians. The ceasefire agreement, finalized in Istanbul on Thursday, follows a sharp rise in militant attacks in Pakistan, many claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, a group emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.
Pakistan partially reopens Torkham border crossing to allow Afghan refugees to leave
