Pakistan temporarily reopens Torkham, Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan

Pakistan on Tuesday temporarily reopened its two main border crossings with Afghanistan to allow visitors with valid visas on both sides to return home following the border’s closure last month amid a string of deadly attacks claimed by terrorists based across the border in the neighbouring country.

The border crossings at Torkham and Chaman have been reopened “in order to provide an opportunity to those nationals of Afghanistan who had come to Pakistan on valid visas, and wish to return to their country”, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, announcing the two crossings would remain opened on March 7 and 8.

“The crossing points will also be opened on these two days for those nationals of Pakistan who had gone to Afghanistan on valid visas and wish to return to Pakistan,” it added.

The ministry further said Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz conveyed the decision to the Afghan Ambassador Omar Zakhilwal, who last week asked the Pakistani government to reopen the border or his government would be forced to airlift its stranded citizens.

The reopening came a day after Pakistan said a group of militants attacked military posts after crossing over from Afghanistan into the Mohmand tribal region, triggering gun battles that killed six soldiers and 10 attackers.

Islamabad officially complained to Kabul over the attack, demanding that Afghanistan take action against armed groups. A spokesman for the provincial governor in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, Attaullah Khogyani, nevertheless said the Pakistani allegations were baseless, even though Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban breakaway faction, itself claimed the responsibility for the attack on Pakistani posts in the Mohmand tribal area.

With the reopening of the border, hundreds of Afghans and Pakistanis with valid travel documents have been allowed to cross through the Torkham crossing in the northwest or the Chaman in the southwest.

Sources in the Frontier Constabulary however said the borders at both the points — in Chaman area of Balochistan and Torkham in Khyber Agency — had been opened only for travelers on foot and not for vehicles.

“As many as 550 Afghans have crossed over since (the crossing opened at) 7:00am,” said Fayyaz Khan, a government official at Torkham.

About 150 Pakistanis also returned home, he said, adding that “so far, no trade activity between Pakistan and Afghanistan has resumed.”

Hukam Dad, a security official at Chaman, said hundreds of Afghans were crossing there as well and that Pakistanis were returning amid tight security.

Earlier on Monday, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif claimed the border was being used “as a thoroughfare” by Pakistani Taliban fighters.

“Our murderers are sitting on their border and you are pleading us not to close down the borders,” he said during a session of the National Assembly.

“We want to have a proper border management with Afghanistan like all the countries have with their neighbouring countries. We will not allow [the border] to be used as a thoroughfare,” the defence minister said.

Islamabad shut the border crossings three weeks ago after a fifth blast in less than a week killed 88 people in Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in interior Sindh.

The Pakistani military said the terrorists behind these attacks had sanctuaries in the country. But, Afghan authorities are still non-cooperative regarding devising an effective border management mechanism.

Pakistani diplomatic officials summoned the Afghan deputy head of mission to the Foreign Office to convey their concerns over continuing attacks by terrorist outfit Jamaat-ul-Ahrar from its sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan also demanded the Afghan government hand over 76 wanted terrorists and take action against terror outfits operating from there.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also held a telephonic conversation with US General John Nicholson, Commander of Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan on February 17, conveying his concerns over continued acts of terrorism in Pakistan from Afghanistan, the ISPR said in a statement.

“Most of the incidents in Pakistan are claimed by terrorist organisations with leadership hiding in Afghanistan,” Gen Bajwa told US General John Nicholson.

“The COAS said that such terrorist activities and inaction against them are testing our current policy of cross-border restraint,” the ISPR said in a statement.