Torkham, a crucial Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing, was closed for the second day on Sunday owing to a dispute over the Taliban’s construction of a new station near the border in violation of an agreement.
The Taliban began building the new post on Friday evening, closing the bridge between Khyber district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
Pakistan did not announce the closure, but one official confirmed it. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that under the agreement, both sides must approve any new border building.
In this scenario, Afghanistan began building the new structure without contacting Pakistan. Pakistan closed the border when the Taliban refused to stop work.
The border crossing closed for trucks and people. About 600 to 700 trucks and 5,000 to 6,000 pedestrians cross the crossing daily.
The Torkham border has been closed multiple times for various causes.
“The current situation is very risky,” added another officer as the stalemate continued Sunday. When asked, the official could not specify a border reopening timeline. He stated the two sides had local contacts but had not settled the matter.
The closing of the Torkham border, a crucial commerce and transit route between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has impacted business and travel.
In a show of goodwill, Pakistani officials permitted six Afghan coffins to enter Pakistan despite rising tensions.
Unauthorized border construction has long been a disagreement between the countries. Pakistani and Afghan border police have fought over border building since 2016.
Both sides now take a rigorous border management approach, often responding violently to uncoordinated building or refurbishment.
The recent dispute over anti-Pakistani terrorists’ use of Afghan soil has strained relations between the two nations.
A recent UN study confirmed Pakistan’s allegations that the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operated from Afghanistan and received help from the Kabul authorities.
The Afghan Taliban supported the TTP financially and operationally, according to the research. Under Afghan Taliban control, the terrorist group opened additional training sites in Kunar, Khost, and Paktika.
Pakistan has stated that terrorist sanctuaries must be handled to improve relations. The Taliban has always claimed the TTP is Pakistan’s internal problem, but impartial evaluations disagree.
Before, in August 2024, the border crossing was blocked due to skirmishes between the two nations’ border security forces over the Afghan Taliban’s road building.
