Khyber District, Pakistan: Pakistan has partially reopened the Torkham border crossing to facilitate the return of undocumented Afghan citizens, officials confirmed on Thursday.
According to authorities, the border — which had remained closed for 20 days — has been reopened exclusively for the deportation process of Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan.
Deputy Commissioner of Khyber District, Bilal Shahid, said that the crossing would remain open only for repatriation purposes, while trade and routine movement of people would stay suspended until further notice.
Local administration officials reported that hundreds of Afghan citizens have already arrived at the Torkham Immigration Center, where staff are completing documentation before allowing them to cross into Afghanistan. Authorities added that no final decision has been made yet on when trade or pedestrian movement will resume in full.
Deputy Commissioner Shahid noted that the border was completely closed on October 11 following heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Now, it has been partially reopened solely for the repatriation process,” he stated.
Meanwhile, UNHCR spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi said that by October 8, a total of 615,000 undocumented Afghan citizens had returned to Afghanistan through Torkham, with more departures continuing daily.
