Pak-Afghan Torkham border reopened for repatriation amid clashes
Security and immigration sources says border crossing temporarily reopened to facilitate deportation of Afghan nationals, following request from Afghan authorities
Kamran Ali
Correspondent Nukta
Kamran Ali, a seasoned journalist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, has a decade of experience covering terrorism, human rights, politics, economy, climate change, culture, and sports. With an MS in Media Studies, he has worked across print, radio, TV, and digital media, producing investigative reports and co-hosting shows that highlight critical issues.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan border was reopened on Thursday for the repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals after a month of clashes between the two countries, officials said.
According to security and immigration sources, the Pak-Afghan Torkham border crossing in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been temporarily reopened to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals, following a request from Afghan authorities.
An immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Nukta that this morning all relevant authorities, including the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Customs, the National Logistics Corporation, and NADRA, were instructed to keep their systems fully operational.
“Around 150 Afghan nationals held in prisons across the country have been transferred to the Hamza Baba Transit Camp in Khyber, while more than 40 of them have been repatriated to Afghanistan following legal formalities,” an official said.
According to officials, the process will continue, with illegally residing Afghan nationals gradually repatriated. “Provided no untoward incident occurs, the border will remain open for the repatriation of Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan,” officials added.
Border closure timeline
The Torkham border crossing was closed after clashes erupted on February 26, when both sides exchanged heavy gunfire following a Pakistani airstrike in Afghanistan targeting a suspected cross-border militant network. Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that militants operate from Afghan territory, a claim firmly denied by Kabul.
The tensions stem from a series of earlier incidents, including explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year that triggered retaliatory attacks by Taliban forces along the Pakistan border. The violence caused casualties, damaged infrastructure and led to the closure of border crossings on October 12, disrupting trade.
Since then, Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led authorities have held multiple rounds of talks in Qatar and Turkey, but efforts to reach a lasting resolution have so far failed.
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