Pakistan on Saturday partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan to allow stranded Afghan refugees to return home, officials said, while maintaining restrictions on all other cross-border movement, including trade and transit activity.
Officials said the Torkham crossing reopened earlier in the day to resume the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
Repatriation had been suspended since October 11 after border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19 allowed for renewed discussions between the two sides.
Despite the partial reopening, trade across the border remains halted. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Friday that the resumption of trade would depend on improvements in the security situation.
The suspension of trade has caused shortages of essential goods and higher prices in border markets, particularly for vegetables such as tomatoes.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently reaffirmed that no further extensions would be granted to Afghan refugees and that all refugee camps would be shut down.
According to official figures, as of October 16, more than 1.47 million Afghan nationals had been repatriated. The government has warned that harbouring undocumented Afghan residents will be treated as a serious offence, with violators facing strict legal action.
