Return of stranded Afghan families: Torkham border remains open on second day

LANDIKOTAL: As a goodwill gesture, Pakistani authorities kept the Torkham border opened for a second consecutive day on Sunday to facilitate the repatriation of Afghan families, following an agreement between Islamabad and Kabul during the Istanbul talks to observe a ceasefire, official sources said.

Border officials told The News that trade and pedestrian movement remained suspended for all other travelers from both sides, with the reopening restricted exclusively to repatriation of Afghan families. The border had remained closed for nearly four weeks due to clashes between Pakistani and Afghan border forces.

Officials said permission for Afghan families to return was granted after an understanding was reached between Pakistani and Afghan delegates in Istanbul on October 30, which was aimed at addressing security concerns and cross-border terrorism.

Hundreds of trucks carrying Afghan families had been stranded for weeks along the Pak-Afghan border areas of Jamrud, Landikotal, and near Torkham due to the closure.

On Sunday, hundreds of Afghan nationals crossed into Afghanistan, while thousands more waited outside the immigration offices for processing, according to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials.

Customs officials said hundreds of families were repatriated to their hometowns in Afghanistan on Saturday. FIA, Customs, and other departments were directed to ensure a smooth and orderly process, though no specific timeline was provided for how long the border would remain open for outgoing families.

Official figures indicate that approximately 1.56 million Afghan nationals have returned under Pakistan’s repatriation programme. In recent days, thousands have crossed via Torkham, while the Chaman border facilitated around 10,700 repatriations in a single day. Between January and April 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded over 265,000 undocumented Afghan returnees, with roughly 75 percent forcibly returned.

Afghan returnees expressed mixed emotions at the crossing. Muhammad Rasool, who had lived in Pakistan for 45 years, said, “We were so happy in Pakistan. We are so sad to leave.”

Another Afghan national, Muhammad Islam, who had lived in Chitral and waited for 25 days in Landikotal, said, “I don’t know what I will do in Afghanistan. I have never seen the country. I will decide once I cross with my family.”