Torkham crossing reopens after nine-day closure

The main Afghanistan-Pakistan land crossing reopened on Friday after being closed for nine days, Nangarhar’s department of information and culture said.

“The Torkham crossing was opened for passengers and commercial goods at 8:00 am today ,” the office said on X formerly known as Twitter.

The Torkham crossing had been closed since last week after forces from both sides exchanged fire, stranding thousands of travellers and hundreds of trucks laden with goods.

“A series of talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials resolved the issue and the border was opened,” a security official in Torkham told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

He said thousands of loaded vehicles had been stuck on both sides of the border due at crossing point in northwestern Pakistan.

Pakistan said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had tried to encroach on its territory with the construction of an “unlawful structure” and accused Afghan forces of “indiscriminate firing”.

The IEA foreign ministry said Pakistan security forces had fired on its troops as they fixed an old security outpost near the border. They criticised the border closing at a key entry point for landlocked Afghanistan.

Relations between the two neighbours has been tense at times, particularly over border disputes and Pakistan’s charges that militants can launch attacks into its territory from bases in Afghanistan. Afghan authorities deny this.