Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan said on Saturday that the Torkham border crossing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been reopened for Afghan refugees returning to their country.

Speaking to Dawn, Khyber Deputy Commissioner Bilal Rao confirmed that the Torkham border crossing had been reopened earlier today for the resumption of Afghan refugees’ repatriation.

Khizer Shah, the spokesman of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, and Afghan officials also confirmed the development.

“Torkham gate is now open for refugees. We welcome our countrymen,” Qureshi Badloon, head of the Information and Culture in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, told Dawn.

The repatriation of Afghan families with or without any travel or identity documents was abruptly suspended on October 11 following border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which continued for days before a ceasefire was formalised in Doha on October 19.

Pakistan had closed all its borders with Afghanistan for all types of movement. Since then, a large number of returning families had been impatiently waiting for the reopening of the Torkham border.

Trade between the countries has remained suspended since then, leading to increased prices of essential goods, especially tomatoes.

Although Islamabad and Kabul on Friday decided to extend the ceasefire, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated that the “border remains closed for trade for now” and resumption of trade would depend on the security situation.

Officials previously said that all relevant staff members had been informed to ensure their presence on duty on Saturday morning. It was not clear whether Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan would be allowed to return.

‘Thousands of refugees stranded’

Meanwhile, Afghan Consul General Hafiz Mohibullah Shakir told Dawn on Friday that thousands of Afghan refugees were stranded and living on the road due to the closure of the Torkham border crossing.

“There are hundreds of vehicles, carrying thousands of refugees, stranded on roads from Nowshera till Torkham,” he had said, adding that many did not have access to food, water or shelter.

He had stated that refugees were continuing to be expelled, especially from Punjab, which was leading to an increase in the number of those stranded on roads. He had appealed for the provision of water, tents and food for the stranded refugees.

Shakir said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had not helped the stranded refugees either, most of whom he said were registered and held Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

Following the recent border tensions, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asserted that the government would grant no further extension to Afghan refugees and that all refugee camps will be shut down.

He was informed that as of October 16, a total of 1,477,592 Afghan nationals had been repatriated.

The government has also warned that harbouring illegal Afghan residents wo­­uld be treated as a serious offence and violators wo­­u­ld face stern punishment.