KHYBER: The labourers and porters ended their three-day protest on Thursday after border security officials assured them about their conditional and restricted cross-border movement at Torkham.

The protesters were demanding of the authorities to lift the ban imposed on pedestrian movement across Torkham to get their lost jobs.

Farmanullah Shinwari, president of Torkham Mazdoor Union, while announcing to end the protest, said that thousands of his colleagues lost their jobs of carrying personal luggage with Pakistani and Afghan nationals along with helping the ailing and elderly people travelling between the two neighbouring countries.

The government on May 8 imposed ban on pedestrian movement at Torkham to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The ban remained intact that caused hardships to labourers at the border.

Mr Shinwari said that border security officials allowed them restricted movement at both sides of the border with coronavirus test mandatory for all of them.

He said that the permission was granted to about 3,000 local labourers. He added that more than 5,000 Afghan porters could not avail the facility.

The government has off late granted conditional permission to ailing Afghans to come to Pakistan for treatment after repeated requests by the Afghan government.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2021