KHYBER: Amid extensive deliberations between government officials and traders on Tuesday to find an amicable solution to visa restrictions imposed on Afghan transporters, the Afghan Taliban authorities threatened to permanently close down the Torkham and Kharlaachi borders with Pakistan if a mutually agreeable solution was not found to the lingering issue.

Sources at Torkham told Dawn on Tuesday on condition of anonymity that the flag meeting between Pakistani and Afghan border security officials, held on Monday evening, ended on a sour note, with the Afghan Taliban refusing to continue the dialogue process if their Pakistani counterparts did not come up with a mutually agreeable solution to the visa policy issue for Afghan transporters.

They said that Afghan authorities had flatly conveyed to Pakistani security officials that the new restrictions were not acceptable to them as they were not given any prior formal intimation of the implementation of the visa policy.

It was also learnt that Afghan authorities had demanded their Pakistani counterparts allow all Afghan transporters stranded on Pakistani soil to go back to their country, after which they would close the border permanently by erecting a concrete wall at the main gate.

New visa restrictions not acceptable to Afghan Taliban, Pakistani officials told

Border closure

Meanwhile, the Torkham border crossing remained closed for all types of trading activities for a fourth consecutive day on Tue­s­day, with some of the fruit-laden vehicles opting to return to Pesha­war for fear of their merchandise rotting due to a prolonged delay in the opening of the border.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of local traders and members of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) held a meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister retired Justice Arshad Hussain and conveyed to him the fallout of the sudden imposition of visa restrictions.

Zahidullah Shinwari, a former SCCI president, told Dawn that the delegation suggested the caretaker CM to defer the implementation of the new visa policy for at least two months to enable the maximum number of Afghan transporters to complete the process of acquiring valid travel documentation.

He said the chief minister was not only informed about the financial losses local transporters and traders had suffered due to the closure of the border, but also that Pakistan was in serious danger of permanently losing the Afghan market for its various export merchandise.

Mr Shinwari said the chief minister assured the team of his ‘who­l­e­hearted’ support in conveying their grievances to the federal government, but at the same time expre­s­sed his inability to make any cha­nges in the visa policy on his own, as it was not a provincial subject.

Also on Tuesday, another meeting was held between senior customs and security officials which discussed in detail the current situation both at Torkham and Kharlaachi border.

Customs officials had been ins­i­s­ting that the requirement for legal travel documents was imp­lemented the world over, with Pakistan and Afghanistan being no exception.

They said the Afghan authorities were conveyed about the imposition of the visa policy several times, but Kabul had failed to take any practical steps to adhere to international border crossing rules.

The immigration official at Torkham also said the new policy would help them keep track of all the people frequently traveling on both sides of the border.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2024