Torkham crossing reopens as Pakistan, Afghanistan come to terms

• Official says border reopened, construction work on gate has also resumed as curfew is lifted in Torkham, Landi Kotal and surrounding areas
• US General Nicholson calls on General Raheel Sharif, discusses Pak-Afghan border management

Following talks a day earlier between Islamabad and Kabul, Pakistan reopened the Torkham crossing along its border with Afghanistan on Saturday after six days of tension and curfew owing to clashes over the construction of a gate – to maintain a check on travellers and to end movement of Taliban fighters coming in from Afghanistan.

Curfew was also lifted in Torkham and Landi Kotal and surrounding areas.

The border was opened at 8:12 in the morning – after a successful third round of flag meeting on Friday night – making way for thousands of trucks which had been piling up on both sides.

Pakistan security forces greeted the consensus over the issue by forwarding pleasantries, including dates and mangoes to the Afghan troops.

VALID VISA, PASSPORT REQUIRED FROM THOSE TRAVELLING THROUGH:

The Pakistan Army has declared possession of identity documents or valid travel documents compulsory to cross into Pakistan. Analysts say the new requirement will affect thousands of people who formerly crossed the busy border post without travel documents.

“Only passport holders allowed from Afghan side,” a spokesperson wrote on Foreign Ministry’s official Twitter account.

Another Pakistani official who declined to be named said that the border had reopened and “the construction work on the gate has also resumed”.

Also, the spokesman for the governor of the Afghan province of Nangarhar, Ataullah Khogyani, confirmed the reopening of the border, saying it happened after “days of negotiations” between the two sides.

On Friday, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had a consultative session attended by national and political figures of the country to discuss problems at Torkham border.

In the session attended also by Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Lower House Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, Senate Chairman Fazil Hadi Muslimyar and other national and political leaders of the country, acting director of security, acting minister of defence, National Security Council adviser and interior minister first briefed related to previous and current situations and problems created in Torkham.

In the session, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah said that the government of Afghanistan wanted the problem in Torkham to be addressed through negotiation and diplomatic channel instead of border clashes and tensions.

GEN NICHOLSON DISCUSSES BORDER MANAGEMENT WITH COAS RAHEEL SHARIF:

Meanwhile, Commander of Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson called on Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters on Saturday.

According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) communiqué, regional security issues and matters of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting. Border management mechanism along the Pak-Afghan border also came up during the meeting, added the military’s media wing.

HOW IT STARTED:

The Torkham crossing is usually used by about 15,000 Afghans every day. Following the restrictions implemented by Pakistan earlier in June, it was closed to anyone who did not have a visa and a valid passport.

Pakistan Army had started building a gate some 37 metres within Pakistan’s territory to maintain a check on travelers and end movement of Taliban fighters coming in through Torkham. Afghanistan claimed that Pakistan’s plan to build a barrier at the crossing was against some understandings between the two sides.

Long queues of vehicles and thousands of passers-by were stranded since Sunday night after Afghanistan opened unprovoked fire, claiming life of a Pakistani major, Ali Jawad Changezi, and injuring over ten others, including a Frontier Corps officer and two Khasadar personnel.

RETALIATION FROM PAKISTAN SIDE:

In the retaliatory attack by the Pakistani security forces an Afghan check post caught fire.

The mortar bombs fired by the Afghani forces fell on a locality on the area which injured six people, including two children. The injured were shifted to a Landi Kotal  hospital.

Curfew was imposed in Landi Kotal market and surrounding areas for an indefinite period of time to protect civilians who were in the crosshairs of shelling by Afghan troops.

The Torkham bazaar was evacuated and the Pak Afghan Transit trade as well as import and export vehicles were sent back to Peshawar.

Pakistan Army retaliated and gave a befitting response however, civil leadership of both the countries agreed that the issue must be resolved through talks. Ambassadors of the both the countries were summoned and lodged protests with.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border has long been porous and disputed. Afghanistan has blocked repeated attempts by Pakistan to build a fence on sections of the roughly 2,200-km-long frontier, rejecting the contours of the boundary.

Pakistan has often accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorists that carry out attacks in Pakistan time and again. Recently, Pakistan has called for increased surveillance and monitoring of the Afghan border, to prevent the infiltration of terrorists into the country.

Different terror attacks in Pakistan were believed to be planned in Afghanistan and executed by militants who entered through Torkham.

Bacha Khan University was one of the many such attacks which claimed at least 21 lives including a PhD professor. The university in Charsadda was attacked on January 20.