KHYBER: A 50-member delegation of elders of various tribes from the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Sunday demanded easing visa restrictions to facilitate free movement of the people residing in the border regions.

The delegates met Shinwari, Zakhakhel and Shalman elders and political leaders at the residence of (late) Malik Gulab Khan Shinwari in Landi Kotal.

Speaking on the occasion, Lal Agha Kakar, head of the delegation, highlighted the hardships the Afghans in general and the residents of the border regions in particular faced while coming to Pakistan through the Torkham crossing point.

He said women, children and elderly people were made to wait for hours on various excuses, adding a number of pregnant women had given birth to their babies at the border point, while some seriously-ill patients had died due to rush and suffocation in the pedestrian terminal due to prolonged delay in immigration clearance.

Mr Kakar said the tough travel conditions had not only affected pedestrian movement but also deprived many young people of their jobs and businesses on both sides of the border.

Haji Akhtar Mohammad Shinwari, another member of the delegation, said the authorities should lift the visa restriction for people of border regions as they frequently travelled across the border due to their historical relations with each other.

He called upon the leaderships of both the countries to play role in lifting travel restrictions and providing better facilities to people travelling between the neighbouring countries for multiple purposes.

The elders agreed to form a joint committee to start a dialogue with the authorities in both the countries in order to remove unnecessary hurdles to cross-border movement.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2021