Border remains tight, homes of 64 Afghan nationals razed in Torkham

LANDIKOTAL: The number  of Afghan nationals coming to Pakistan dropped to a few hundred as the border authorities on Saturday continued to deny entry to the Afghans lacking legal travel documents, eyewitnesses and sources at the border said.

The Pakistani border officials continued tight checking of travel documents including visa, “rahdari” and Nadra Afghan national cards and permits issued by the Pakistan government to Afghan citizens.

A well-placed source at the administration offices in Torkham told The News that due to restrictions imposed on the Afghan citizens the number of visitors to Pakistan had dropped to a few hundred. He said earlier every day at least 7,000 Afghan citizens entered Pakistan at Torkham. He said the Afghan government and its people were not happy with the restrictions imposed on those travelling to Pakistan.

An Afghan businessman dealing in auto spare-parts on the Afghan side of the Torkham border said that Pakistan was their second home. He said the two countries should resolve the problem with mutual understanding so that Afghan citizens could live a peaceful life.

“Anger and anxiety is visible among the Afghan people while the Afghan government is preparing to lodge a formal protest against the restrictions imposed by Pakistan on Afghans travelling to Pakistan,” said the businessman Gul Muhammad Shinwari.

He said they had spent millions of rupees on building their houses in Peshawar and have shops and auto repairing workshops in different Pakistani cities. He added it would impossible for them to leave Pakistan as his sons and nephews were born in Pakistan and were now seeking education in schools in Peshawar.

“It would be a heart-breaking decision for me and others who lived a peaceful life in Pakistan to leave as we have no house to live in our hometowns,” said Gul Mohammad Shinwari. He added that they may be killed if they go back to Afghanistan as his village, Pikha in Nangrahar province’s Shinwari area was in the control of militants including Islamic State fighters.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities continued crackdown against the illegal Afghan nationals on the fourth day in Torkham.

Political Tehsildar of Torkham, Shakeel Umarzai, told The News that on the fourth day of crackdown 64 houses of Afghan citizens were demolished. He said these families were illegally residing in Geyanrai and Bacha Mina sited on the border with Afghanistan.

He said Afghans residing in these places for the last four decades had been sent back to Afghanistan. He said the operation would continue until the last Afghan was repatriated to Afghanistan.