Afghan and Pakistani authorities agreed to work together to improve facilitating trade and pedestrian crossing at the Torkham border, following the closure of the crossing point several times in the recent past.
The Pak-Afghan Border Management Committee met in the Afghan customs office in the Gumrak area on Wednesday and agreed to find solutions to the problems pertaining to trade and border crossing at Torkham.
Afghan delegation included Abdul Hadi director-general of customs, Qazi Hamid, deputy director of import and export, border security, and health officials, while the Pakistani team included police, Anti-Narcotics Force, and other officials.
The two sides discussed the reasons for the week-long unilateral closure of the Torkham border by Afghan border forces on February 19. Afghan officials accused Pakistani forces of denying entry permission to Afghan patients and their attendance to Pakistan without visa.
The Afghan side also sought permission from those Afghan citizens who hold Proof of Registration (PoR) and wants to move to Pakistan. It is stated that PoR holders have lived in Pakistan for decades, and they do not have any other legal documents.
Furthermore, the two sides reiterated that all issues should be resolved to avoid further sudden border closure in the future, which adversely affects both sides.
Also, both sides agree to effectively prevent child porters from secretly taking sugar and orange to Afghanistan and smuggling goods to Pakistan.
Torkham remains a key border between the two countries not only for passenger crossing but also for the transit of commercial goods. Pakistan intends to expand multilateral trade relations with the Central Asian countries through this route. Therefore, any sudden disruption on this border can have serious economic consequences for both sides.
