Torkham port opened to Afghan returnees from Pakistan

The Nangarhar Governor previously had emphasized that all of the returnees coming back through Torkham port would be quarantined for two weeks in Torkham Camp, but now it is reported that the returnees are allowed to enter Afghanistan after only a 24-hour stay at the camp.

It is to be mentioned that the Nangarhar Governor, Shah Mahmoud Miakhil, has built a camp in Torkham to quarantine the passengers, but now he has said that the refugees will be free to go after 24 hours of stay at the camp.

The governor has added that he had previously been serious because he wanted to make sure that all the passengers take proper tests for the virus.

A security source, who tends to remain unanimous, said that due to the enormous number of passengers, they were unable to quarantine the returnees for two weeks long, so they let them go prematurely.

Torkham is said to be open to the returnees until this Wednesday.

Based on the information, Pakistani officials are allowing only 1,000 passengers to enter Afghanistan daily.

This comes as 20,000 Afghan returnees are reported to have gathered on the other side of the border to enter Afghanistan.

The main concerns are that if these passengers are traveling to Nangarhar and then to other provinces without any standard testing, the risk of the COVID-19 outbreak will grow beyond imagination in Afghanistan.

The COVID-19 was first in Afghanistan from Iran through Herat, and now the entry of returnees in homage numbers from Torkham will increase the danger of the outbreak to a higher level.