By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reopened a key border crossing with Afghanistan on Tuesday after a 10-day closure that had disrupted trade and strained ties between the two neighbours, but warned that the visa requirement for Afghan truck drivers would be enforced from April.
The Torkham crossing, a vital link for transit and bilateral trade, was shut on Jan. 13 after Pakistan demanded that Afghan drivers obtain passports and visas, a move that sparked protests and complaints from Kabul and Afghan traders.
Pakistan said the measure was aimed at curbing illegal crossings and enhancing security, but Afghanistan said it violated a 2010 trade agreement that allowed visa-free travel for truck drivers on both sides.
After several rounds of talks, the two sides agreed to reopen the crossing on Tuesday, but with a new deadline of March 31 for the Afghan drivers to obtain the necessary documents, according to officials and traders.
“Torkham border has been reopened under a specific arrangement for one month. After one month, the Afghan drivers will require proper traveling documents such as visas and passports,” Naheed Khan, a senior police officer on the border, told reporters. “Starting on 1 April, both a visa and passport will be mandatory.”
Witnesses said hundreds of trucks carrying perishable goods, such as fruits and vegetables, had started crossing the border on Tuesday morning, easing the congestion and losses that had piled up during the closure.
A trader said the Pakistani authorities had agreed to relax the visa requirement for one month as a “goodwill” gesture, but urged the Afghan government to facilitate the process of issuing passports and visas to its citizens.
“The problem is not solved, it is only postponed,” he said. “We hope that both governments will work together to resolve this issue permanently and avoid such disruptions in the future.”
The Torkham crossing, which connects the Pakistani city of Peshawar with the Afghan city of Jalalabad, is one of the busiest and most important border points between the two countries, handling hundreds of trucks and thousands of people every day.
It is also a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries for Pakistan, which has been seeking to boost its exports and regional connectivity.
Ties between the two neighbours 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.
Tensions also exist around Pakistan’s ongoing expulsion of undocumented Afghans. Pakistan has deported more than half a million Afghans without valid papers in recent months.
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