|
|
|
| November 16, 2001 | Friday | Shaba'an 29, 1422 |
Afghans stranded at Torkham border
MICHNI(Khyber Agency), Nov 15: Thousands of Afghans intending to enter Afghanistan were stranded at Torkham on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as the new Afghan border guards closed the war-ravaged country’s border with Pakistan on Thursday.
However, the guards allowed entry to some 20 vehicles boarding dozens of foreign and local journalists along with the supporters and family members of Haji Qadeer Khan, one of the contenders to become the governor of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
A couple of trucks carrying fresh dry fruits from Afghanistan were also allowed to continue their journey towards Pakistan from Afghanistan.
“They (the new Afghan border guards) have closed the war-torn country’s border with Pakistan even not allowing their countrymen to cross over to their side of the border,” an official of the political administration, Khyber Agency, of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), told Dawn.
Official sources posted at Michni, some two kilometres before the Torkham border town, told this scribe that over 2000 Afghans, involving some families stranded at Torkham inside Pakistan, were trying to enter Afghanistan.
However, all of them had to return to their places in Pakistan after being denied entry to Afghanistan by the new guards.
Khan Zaman, a bearded young Afghan who works for a foreign-funded non-governmental organization, Peshawar-kai (Japan) Medical Services, told Dawn that after waiting for several hours at Torkham in an attempt to enter Afghanistan he, along with his other colleagues, was going back to Peshawar.
Till Wednesday the Afghan border security post was being manned by the Taliban guards and reinforcements had also been dispatched only to get them replaced by a totally new border security force late at night between Wednesday and Thursday, Pakistan officials posted at Torkham told Dawn.
“Actually the Taliban had closed down Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan following the fall of Kabul rendering stranded the Afghans at Torkham who were proceeding to their country with humanitarian assistance goods sent by different relief agencies,” said Mohammed, in charge of a checkpoint at Michni on way to the Torkham border town from Peshawar.
Several trucks loaded with wheat — sent by relief agencies from Pakistan — have returned to Peshawar after being denied entry to Afghanistan for the last two days.
“There is no advantage in getting stuck up at Torkham when they are not allowing anybody to cross over to Afghanistan,” said a truck driver.
However, some of the people told this scribe at Landi Kotal, the headquarters of Khyber Agency, that Pakistani authorities were, too, were not allowing the trucks carrying goods to enter Afghanistan because of increasing insecurity in Jalalabad and rest of the Nangarhar province.
“On Wednesday a godown of cloth was looted in Jalalabad besides a couple of trucks entering from Pakistan, last night, were looted on way to Jalalabad from Torkham after the Taliban guards abandoned the checkpoint on the main highway,” said the official sources.
A truck driver, who arrived at Torkham from Jalalabad on Wednesday, told this scribe that the four checkpoint — earlier manned by the Taliban guards on the main highway linking Jalalabad with Torkham — were without guards after the Taliban left the same on Wednesday.
“I completed my journey from Jalalabad to Torkham without being stopped or checked at any of the four checkpoints,” said the truck driver.
|
|
|
|
