Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing - Activities / News

[ghazi52]

Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing remains shut,​

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand guard at Torkham border crossing, in Khyber district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

RIAZ KHAN
February 27, 2025

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A nearly weeklong closure of a key crossing on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has disrupted bilateral trade and the movement of people, causing financial losses to traders and leaving people stranded in harsh winter conditions, officials said Thursday.

The Torkham border crossing has remained closed since Feb. 21 after Pakistan shut it down over a dispute concerning Afghanistan’s construction of a border post.

Since then, more than 5,000 trucks and vehicles carrying goods, including fruits and vegetables, have been stranded on both sides, awaiting the reopening of the trade route, according to Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Torkham also serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods between Pakistan and Central Asian countries, and Sarhadi urged both countries to resolve their dispute so that bilateral trade and movement of people could resume.

At Torkham, truck driver Najeeb Ullah said that he was forced to sleep in his vehicle because he can’t leave it unguarded on the road.

“We request Pakistan and Afghanistan to have mercy on us, as we are suffering without any reason,” he told reporters.

Hundreds stranded near the border​

Mustafa Khan, another driver, said that he was hoping to return to his northwestern city of Peshawar after delivering a supply of cement in Afghan city Jalalabad, but “I am stuck here since Friday, and I have no idea for how many days we will have to face this trouble.”

Farhad Nusrat, an Afghan citizen, said that he was returning home with his mother and children, and the closure of the border crossing has forced them to spend their days and nights in the open area. He appealed to Pakistani authorities to reopen the border.

Authorities said that hundreds of Pakistanis were also stranded on the other side of the border.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. However, Abdul Jabbar Hikmat, the commissioner on the Afghan side of the border, confirmed the closure by Pakistan.

“Whenever Pakistani authorities conduct construction on their side, we say nothing. But whenever we do something, they close the border,” Hikmat said.

Border fence to strengthen control​

Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Trade and E-commerce, said that the border crossing was shut by Pakistan unilaterally and the Afghan authorities were trying to resolve this issue.

He said the closure also affected landlocked Afghanistan’s transit trade. He provided no further details, but other Afghan Taliban and Pakistani local officials said those stranded on both sides included Afghan women, children, and patients who were either returning home or wanted to travel to Pakistan to receive medical treatment.

Border closures at Torkham are common because of disputes over new posts along the porous Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized. Pakistan, meanwhile, has nearly completed a border fence to strengthen control.

The Torkham crossing is located on the edge of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban militants frequently target security forces.


The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in 2021. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the TTP, and increasing attacks by TTP on security forces in Pakistan has strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul

 

[ghazi52]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[ghazi52]

Latest closure of key crossing causes $12M loss to Pakistan, Afghanistan trade

Torkham crossing remained closed for 5th consecutive day on Wednesday

Amir Latif
26.02.2025

Pakistani customs officials said Wednesday that the latest closure of a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has caused a $12 million loss in bilateral trade.

The Torkham border, which connects Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, has been closed since Saturday due to a dispute over the construction of a new checkpoint on the Afghan side.

The crossing remained closed for the fifth day in a row after a flag meeting between the two border forces officials held Tuesday remained fruitless.

"The closure has led to a $12 million loss to the trade between the two countries over the last five days," local broadcaster Geo News reported, citing a customs official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to the media.

Torkham is one of the 18 crossings between the two neighbors, which have been locked in a border dispute for decades, which leads to frequent closure of land connections.

Some 10,000 people, mainly Afghans, use the crossing daily to seek medical treatment and earn a livelihood in Pakistan's border areas.

The two neighbors have had fluctuating trade relations due to ups and downs in their ties, which led to frequent closures of the border.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s exports to Afghanistan have increased by 92% in the first six months of the current fiscal year, touching over $504 million.

Whereas, Pakistan’s imports from Afghanistan have also seen a significant rise of 125.85% during this period.

According to the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, trade between the two countries amounted to $2.5 billion in 2010 but dropped to $1.6 billion before settling at slightly over $1.8 billion in 2022-23.

Trade between the neighbors is conducted under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, a bilateral deal signed in 2010.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been sour since November 2023, after Islamabad launched a crackdown against illegal foreigners, mostly Afghan refugees, and announced it would send them back to their countries.

Islamabad also accuses Kabul of providing safe havens for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed umbrella organization that frequently launches attacks in Pakistan after crossing the border.

However, the interim Afghan government denies the charge, urging Islamabad to handle its domestic issues rather than blaming Kabul.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

It should remain shut till a massive cleansing ops, using asymmetric robotic means along with sporadic surgical special forces strikes, is 90% finished inside Afganistan. It's a unique opportunity since tons of fissures have appeared in the Taliban leadership and ranks. Moreover, President Trump is all set to take revenge on the Taliban in particular and Afghans in general for all the wastage of the US resources they have caused....

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

It should remain shut till a massive cleansing ops, using asymmetric robotic means along with sporadic surgical special forces strikes, is 90% finished. It's a unique opportunity since tons of fissures have appeared in the Taliban leadership and ranks. Moreover, President Trump is all set to take revenge on the Taliban in particular and Afghans in general for all the wastage of the US resources they have caused....

He has a bigger mess here at home to work on. No need to go back to Afghanistan.

If he does anything, it would be better to put Pakistan on the payroll to manage the Afghan problem.

 

[ghazi52]

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A nearly weeklong closure of a key crossing on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has disrupted bilateral trade and the movement of people, causing financial losses to traders and leaving people stranded in harsh winter conditions, officials said Thursday.

The Torkham border crossing has remained closed since Feb. 21 after Pakistan shut it down over a dispute concerning Afghanistan’s construction of a border post.

Since then, more than 5,000 trucks and vehicles carrying goods, including fruits and vegetables, have been stranded on both sides, awaiting the reopening of the trade route, according to Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Torkham also serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods between Pakistan and Central Asian countries, and Sarhadi urged both countries to resolve their dispute so that bilateral trade and movement of people could resume.

At Torkham, truck driver Najeeb Ullah said that he was forced to sleep in his vehicle because he can't leave it unguarded on the road.


“We request Pakistan and Afghanistan to have mercy on us, as we are suffering without any reason,” he told reporters.

Another driver, Mustafa Khan, said that he was hoping to return to his northwestern city of Peshawar after delivering a supply of cement in Afghan city Jalalabad, but “I am stuck here since Friday, and I have no idea for how many days we will have to face this trouble.”

Farhad Nusrat, an Afghan citizen, said that he was returning home with his mother and children, and the closure of the border crossing has forced them to spend their days and nights in the open area. He appealed to Pakistani authorities to reopen the border.

Authorities said that hundreds of Pakistanis were also stranded on the other side of the border.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. However, Abdul Jabbar Hikmat, the commissioner on the Afghan side of the border, confirmed the closure by Pakistan.


“Whenever Pakistani authorities conduct construction on their side, we say nothing. But whenever we do something, they close the border,” Hikmat said.

Border closures at Torkham are common because of disputes over new posts along the porous Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized. Pakistan, meanwhile, has nearly completed a border fence to strengthen control.

The Torkham crossing is located on the edge of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban militants frequently target security forces.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in 2021. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the TTP, and increasing attacks by TTP on security forces in Pakistan has strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

 

[Distant_Observer]

He has a bigger mess here at home to work on. No need to go back to Afghanistan.

If he does anything, it would be better to put Pakistan on the payroll to manage the Afghan problem.

At the very least their depots storing US weapons have to be destroyed. Rather than triggering a war if Pakistan did it, US should conduct air strikes. They can use shamsi.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Depots should have been destroyed as part of the withdrawal. Everyone knew how fast the Taliban were reclaiming territory. It was stupid of both Trump and Biden to leave that much weaponry there.

Neither learned after the drawdown in Iraq and ISIS / ISIL / Al-Qaeda / whatever the hell they go by captured how much US-made equipment from the Iraqis and turned right around to use it against the Iraqis.

 

[ghazi52]

Traders, transporters suffer losses as Torkham border remains closed​

Ibrahim Shinwari
March 1, 2025

KHYBER: The weeklong closure of Torkham border has resulted in billions of rupees losses to the exchequer as well as traders and transporters, with officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan yet to resolve the thorny issue of border modification on either side.

Customs officials, exporters and importers told Dawn that the daily export volume in recent weeks had jacked up to $1.5 million, while the country was earning around Rs 540 million as the bilateral trade had witnessed a rapid surge since late January.

They insisted that losses incurred due to closure of the border since last Friday could have been translated to a similar amount of profit had the two countries been able to timely resolve political issues and avoid unnecessary closure of the border,much to the discomfort of local traders and transporters.

The officials and exporters said that they were quite upbeat about the healthy increase in the quantum of trade between the two countries but their “celebrations” proved to be short-lived when the border was closed on the night of Feb 21 after border security officials reacted sharply to the renovation of a border checkpost on the Afghan side.

Pakistani, Afghan officials yet to resolve issues

In response, Afghan border officials accused the Pakistani side of fixing a new signboard close to the border crossing without informing them about the change in the border structure.

Since then, the Torkham border crossing has been closed for all types of cross-border activities, with only exception of allowing bodies of eight Afghans, who had died in Pakistan, to be taken to Afghanistan on February 22.

 

[ghazi52]

Border security officials of both countries had met only once since then while failing to reach an agreement to reopen the border, to the disappointment of the customs and immigration officials who had called back their staff members in anticipation of border reopening.

He said that nowhere in the world were borders closed on such small political issues with focus always on trade between bordering countries and cordial trading relations.

In order to enhance bilateral trade, both governments should work on formulating a 10-year trade policy as part of a long-term trading and business policy with Afghanistan.

“The weeklong border closure is badly affecting local traders and transporters, while ordinary citizens, too, are facing an uncertain situation as they’re anxiously waiting on both sides of the border,” he said.

 

[ghazi52]

Pak-Afghan officials fail to agree on reopening of Torkham border​

Our Correspondent
March 3, 2025

KHYBER: Security officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan failed to reach an agreement regarding the reopening of the Torkham border on Sunday with both the sides showing some optimism that the issue would be resolved anytime this week.

Official sources at Torkham said that border security officials of both the countries met at the Zero Point at around midday with both sides explaining their positions and also insisting that previous protocols about any change in the existing border structure be honoured and respected.

Officials said that Pakistan was willing to reopen the border with the Afghan officials requesting for some time to discuss the matter with their higher authorities.

It was also learnt that the customs and immigration departments had also called their staff for duty on Sunday in anticipation of reopening of the border but they had to return back as no agreement could be reached.

Local sources said that hundreds of returning Afghans too gathered near the border with the hope that they would be allowed to go home as they impatiently waited for the entire day, but in vain.

A local youth organisation in the meanwhile arranged Iftar for the stranded Afghans both at Torkham and in Landi Kotal. Officials said that they were now waiting for the Afghan officials to come back with a positive massage about the border reopening.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistani, Afghan security forces clash at closed main border crossing​

Reuters

KABUL/PESHAWAR: Pakistani and Afghan security forces clashed on Monday at the recently shuttered main border crossing between the two countries, killing at least one combatant and injuring several, officials said.

The conflict erupted on the first working day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, when food imports from Pakistan usually peak in Afghanistan, which is facing a humanitarian and hunger crisis. A 10-day-old closure of the Torkham border point has stranded thousands of trucks filled with essential goods.

The Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday the latest firing took place overnight and that one Taliban fighter had been killed and two injured. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that members of the Pakistani security forces had been wounded.

Pakistan’s foreign office did not respond to a request for comment.

Abdul Mateen Qaniee, the Afghan interior ministry spokesperson, said that this week’s clashes had been resolved but did not comment on whether the border crossing would now reopen. It has been shut since February 21.

The latest closure, which chamber of commerce officials said was sparked by a dispute over the construction of a border-area outpost, has left 5,000 trucks stranded and traders alarmed at rising losses.

“This is a very serious issue and is badly affecting trade between the two countries,” said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce.

The Torkham crossing is the main transit artery for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Trade between the two countries was worth over $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Pakistan’s foreign office.

Yousaf Afridi, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries for Pakistan’s Khyber district where the Torkham crossing is located, said the closure had caused at least $15 million in losses.

It could exacerbate the challenges confronting the Afghan economy, which has teetered near crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021, leading to a cut in development aid and sanctions affecting the banking sector that has hampered businesses.

Millions of Afghans are at risk of hunger and around half the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the United Nations.

 

[ghazi52]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[RescueRanger]

Afghanistan under this farce Taliban regime is a serious thorn in the side of regional nations and a serious security threat.

The Ephedra plant has been identified as an excellent source of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, both of which can be chemically reduced to form the illicit drug methamphetamine also known as Meth of ICE in Pakistan.
Ephedra being harvested in Afghanistan:


Empty bottles of cold medicine - Afghanistan:


Meth lab in Afghanistan producing Meth at a wholesale level:


Meth/ICE being packed and shipped in Bahramchar, Afghanistan 2.16 KM from the Pakistan border:




Pakistan must first and foremost safeguard its own national interest and the safety and welfare of its citizens. The meth trade funds not only organised crime but both domestic and cross-border terrorism.

It is therefore in Pakistan's national interest to hold the Afghan Taliban accountable and counter this disgusting trade.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Post #14 is an excellent example why I lose my mind every time someone mentions DEA and their "war" against the poppy producers in Afghanistan. It was a joke. Make everyone back home feel good meanwhile the next valley over was an even bigger field that was left untouched and of course this.