Talks fail to reopen Torkham border

LANDIKOTAL: The Pakistani and Afghan border officials met at the Torkham border zero point but the talks could not resolve the issue, official sources said on Monday.

The Pakistani side was led by Lt Col Rana Adnan Shafiq of the Frontier Corps. He was accompanied by Major Murad, Major Bahlool and Torkham Tehsildar Daud Afridi. The Afghan side consisted of Qari Abdul Jabbar Hekmat, Qari Rafiullah, Qari Muhammad and Maluvi Takal.

The participants of the meeting discussed various border issues and stressed a solution to resume vehicular and pedestrian movements across the border. The Afghan side objected to the condition of passports and visas for the drivers and helpers of the vehicles with Pakistani authorities. They urged them to relax the condition in the best interest of businessmen and transporters from both the countries.

The Afghan officials said that suspending trade activities at Torkham border without any intimation was against the social and international norms that created tension and caused discomfort to traders, patients and other citizens.

They said such practices should not be repeated in future which not only affect neighboring countries’ relations. The Afghan officials said 90 percent of Afghan drivers and patients did not possess passports. They said they gave priority to patients to obtain passports and visas who suffer from serious diseases such as cancer, etc. They said Afghan authorities lacked resources to issue the documents and Pakistani authorities should allow patients on a humanitarian basis.

The Afghan officials complained that the reopening of border and visa issues were getting complicated. They said Afghanistan wanted cordial relations with Pakistan, adding closing the border without any prior notice would compel Afghanistan to erect a wall at the Torkham border crossing to close the passage forever.

The Afghan authorities alleged that the Pakistani Embassy and consulates were rejecting visit visa applications without citing any reasons. Lt Col Adnan told the Afghan officials that the implementation of passport and visa conditions had been pending since November 2, last year. He said Afghan authorities were not cooperating with the Pakistani counterparts on the issue.

He said cancer patients were facilitated to reach the hospitals in Pakistan without any delay. The official said he would convey the Afghan side’s assertions to the relevant departments but said Kabul was not interested in providing data of Afghan drivers and their helpers to the Pakistani Embassy in Afghanistan.