Torkham border remains shut for fourth day

LANDIKOTAL/PESHAWAR: The Torkham border crossing remained closed on Wednesday (the fourth day) after a row over the legal documents for Afghans travelling to Pakistan.

People staged a walk and a protest rally separately in Landikotal and Torkham to demand the reopening of the border point between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Officials said backdoor talks were taking place with the Afghan authorities to persuade the Afghan Taliban to reopen the border and allow the truckers and people to cross the border.

The labourers and transporters staged a walk-in in Torkham town and chanted slogans demanding the reopening of the Torkham border.

Labourers union president Farman Khan Shinwari and Custom Agents Association leader Qari Nazim Gul said both countries were dependent on each other and common people were facing problems due to the border closure.

Farman said both governments should resolve the issues through talks.

Meanwhile, traders, transporters, coach drivers and civil society members also arranged a walk in Torkham. They were holding white flags and demanded the reopening of the Torkham border.

They said the Afghan government must relax its stance and talk to Pakistani counterparts.

They said in the first phase, Afghanistan must allow pedestrians so that the thousands of passengers waiting on both sides of the border could move to their destinations.

Torkham Transporters Union President Azeemullah Shinwari said they could not afford the closure of the border. He said if the Afghan government did not reopen the border they would be compelled to shift their businesses to other cities in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks loaded with different goods, including vegetables and fresh fruit were seen parked on the Peshawar-Torkham road.

Afghan authorities had closed the border four days ago after Pakistan denied entry to an Afghan patient who was travelling to Peshawar for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Wednesday urged the Afghan Taliban to reopen the Torkham border crossing and allow the stranded trucks loaded with food and other perishable goods.

Talking to a delegation of traders and exporters in Peshawar, SCCI President Muhammad Ishaq expressed serious concerns over the closure of the border for the last four days and said this would cause huge losses to the traders.

He said that a long queue of 7,500 export and transit trucks loaded with sugar and other perishable items were stranded at Torkham, urging the Afghan government to review its decision and reopen the border.