Pakistan reopens border crossing with Afghanistan after deadlock over visa requirements

Pakistan and Afghanistan on havereopened the Torkham border crossing, weeks after a row over travel papers erupted earlier this month.

The border was closed since Jan 12, as Islamabad imposed strict controls requiring truck drivers from both sides to have visas and passports.

Torkham crossing | Google Maps

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For decades, the border check on both sides allowed truck drivers entry and exit without passport compulsions, throwing in the semblance of a free flow of people and goods in the Af-Pak region.

During 1978-1992 Afghan Civil War, Pakistan facilitated theroute for the passage of US-backednon-Afghan fighters into Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Army.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,640 km border— called the Durand Line— which Kabul, under both democratically-elected governments as well as the Taliban, has described as a vestige of the British empire in the subcontinent and deems illegal.

A Pakistan border official confirmed to the AFP news agency the reopening of border on Monday (Jan 22) after negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul, allowing hundreds of waiting trucks to cross.

"It was agreed during the discussions that until 31 March, Pakistani and Afghan drivers can cross the border without a visa and passport," he said.

"However, starting on 1 April, both a visa and passport will be mandatory," he said.

According to Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, more than 1,500 civilians, security personnel, and militants were killed in attacks by armed groups.

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"Pakistan desires Afghanistan to adopt a tough stance against the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan)," a senior provincial government official in Peshawar City told the AFP.

"If they do not, the trade route will be intermittently closed for various reasons," the official said.

Pakistan-Afghanistan ties in recent months

Pakistan in Novemberclaimed that the Afghan government is "doing nothing against terrorism emanating from Afghan soil". Islamabad claims that it is theviolation of the US-Taliban Doha agreement that made American withdrawal from Afghanistan conditional based on the Taliban's assurance that Afghanistan "will not become a safe haven for terrorists".

Ties between the two countries have increasingly frayed in recent months, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban government of failing to root out militants staging attacks in Pakistan from their soil.

Kabul has rejected the allegations.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 500,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan in the four months since Islamabad ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest.

(With inputs from agencies)