Talks underway to reopen Torkham crossing to traffic: officials

Torkham residents said on Thursday that the border crossing remains closed a day after clashes between Islamic Emirate border guards and their Pakistani counterparts.

Local officials in Nangarhar province said that talks are ongoing with Pakistani authorities regarding the reopening of Torkham crossing, but the two sides have not reached a conclusion so far.

Abdul Basir Zabuli, the spokesman of the Nangarhar Police Command, said that IEA forces wanted to repair a checkpoint when they were attacked by the border forces of Pakistan.

Zabuli added that the IEA always emphasizes the need for good relations with neighboring countries, especially with Pakistan, but it is obliged to defend its territory and respond to any attack.

“The policy of the Islamic Emirate with all countries, especially with neighboring countries, is to interact well with them, to have good neighborly relations with them, if someone attacks our forces, our forces are ready to defend themselves,” said Zabuli.

However, members of the public who are stuck on both sides say that they are facing many problems due to the closure of the crossing.

The medical “patients who were at the crossing were turned back, the children and women suffered, we are tired of the war and we don’t want a war between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said a Nangarhar resident. 

“We request the authorities of both sides to make peace between themselves because both sides are Muslims,” said another resident.

According to reports, an Afghan border force guard was killed in Wednesday’s skirmish. Although the authorities of the two countries have not confirmed whether there were casualties, local residents say that civilians were also wounded.