PESHAWAR: Pakistan opened a key northwestern border crossing with Afghanistan on Tuesday, police and customs officials said, more than ten days after it was closed over Afghan truck drivers not having proper travel documents.
Truckers have for years been able to pass the border without documents so they generally do not have them but Pakistani officials have recently started asking for passports and visas from Afghan drivers.
The Torkham border crossing has been closed a number of times in recent months, including in September when it was shut for nine days due to clashes between border forces.
“Torkham border has been reopened under a specific arrangement for one month. After one month, the Afghan drivers will require proper traveling documents such as visas and passports,” Naheed Khan, a senior police officer deputed on the border, told Arab News, saying officials had decided to relax document requirements temporarily as a “goodwill” gesture.
The flow of a large number of transit trade vehicles had started on Tuesday morning soon after the border opened, Khan added.
Asghar Ali, a Pakistani customs clearing agent at the border, said the gates of the busy crossing point were reopened at around 9:00 am today, Tuesday, after which movement of vehicles began.
“It is open for a month. After one month, transporters and drivers will be required to carry valid traveling documents while crossing the border,” he said. “Let’s see what happens next.”
Pakistan has deported more than half a million Afghans without valid papers in recent months. The country has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet war. More than half a million fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power.
Pakistan says it is concerned that many Pakistani Taliban leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and have been emboldened to carry out more attacks on security forces in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban government insists it does not allow the Pakistani Taliban to use its soil to launch attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan has also blamed a number of recent bombings and attacks on Afghan nationals, saying security concerns were a major reason for its crackdown against illegal migrants.