Pakistan reopens border with Afghanistan for pedestrians

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday reopened a key border crossing with neighboring Afghanistan for pedestrian movement, an official said.

Torkham border – one of the two main crossings between the two neighbors – was closed by the Taliban on Monday after Islamabad rejected their demand for allowing all Afghan citizens gathered at the border to enter the Pakistani side.

According to Mansoor Arshad, the deputy commissioner of the Khyber district in which the Torkham border falls, the border has been reopened for stranded Afghan and Pakistani nationals to return to their respective countries.

Hundreds of Afghan citizens had gathered at the border on Monday to enter Pakistan after rumors that Islamabad has opened its border.

Only those who require medical treatment are being allowed to enter Pakistan, apart from the evacuees who are going abroad.

Trade activities between the two sides have been going on smoothly.

Since Aug. 15, when the Taliban took over the control of Kabul, over 30,000 Afghans returned to their homeland through the Torkham border from Pakistan and some 4,000 entered Pakistan, according to officials.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points – the most frequently used are Torkham and Chaman.