Torkham border between Afghanistan and Pakistan remained closed for third days

The most crowded border between Afghanistan and Pakistan (Torkham gate) remained closed for the third consecutive day. The closure has severely impacted traders, transporters and hundreds of laborers who rely on daily work on both sides of the gate. Besides halt on trade activities, the closure leaves passengers and daily wage workers in a very stressful situation.

The Chamber of Commerce and Investment of Afghanistan announced that the closure of the Torkham crossing has harmed the trade of both sides and the transit of goods from Karachi to Afghanistan is suspended.

Pakistan is considered one of Afghanistan’s important trading partners, and part of food and transit goods are imported to Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Pakistani officials have said that this crossing has been blocked due to the construction of new Taliban facilities near the border.

The border commissioner of the Taliban in Torkham confirmed that Pakistan had taken action following the construction activities of the Taliban near the border. However, hundreds of passengers and lorries of commercial goods are stuck at the Torkham crossing.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s foreign minister said that Islamabad wants to interact with the Taliban, but according to the ministry, the Taliban should not give Afghanistan’s territory to extremist groups.

An official said that hundreds of travelers, who are stuck at the Torkham crossing, are about to enter Afghanistan, but the border is closed by Pakistani security forces.

The Taliban border commissioner said, along with hundreds of passengers, patients and trucks carrying commercial goods, they are waiting for the reopening of the Torkham crossing. But the Pakistani authorities have said that the construction of facilities is illegal and creates tension, asking the Taliban to stop it.

Islamabad has confirmed that its relations with the Taliban are facing challenges

In more than three years since their government, the Taliban have clashed with the Pakistani military many times, sometimes because of border challenges, sometimes because of issues related to terrorism. Besides this, Pakistan has every now and then carried out military operations on the territory of Afghanistan, like the deadly airstrike by Pakistani fighters on Barmal district of Paktika that killed a large number of people.

Pakistan foreign ministry time and again said that Afghan soil should not be used to plan or carry out terrorist activities against Pakistan.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was a sovereign decision for the United States, but the important thing is that they should not have left their weapons in Afghanistan.

These weapons are now in the hands of terrorist groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other extremist groups, Pakistan FM said in a statement.