PESHAWAR: As the Pakistani authorities temporarily reopened the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after 18 days, thousands of people assembled at the Torkham and Chaman borders in order to return to their native country, Afghanistan.
A careful estimate depicts that around twelve thousand Afghan nationals passed through the borders to get to Afghanistan, whereas some 500 returned to Pakistan, amid stringent security measures.
The Pakistani authorities reopened the Torkham and Chaman border crossings only for two days to allow Afghan and Pakistani nationals stuck on both the sides to return to their native countries. The two crossings were closed after a wave of terrorist attacks hit the country recently, claiming about hundred lives.
Pakistan has repeatedly blamed Afghanistan for not controlling terrorist elements using the Afghanistan soil to launch terrorist attacks in Pakistan.