KHYBER: A convoy of World Food Organisation carrying food assistance to Afghanistan got stranded at Torkham on Wednesday due to procedural lacunas and grant of permission by Afghan Taliban government.

Earlier in the day, nine vehicles loaded with edibles left National Logistic Corporation (NLC) terminal in Jamrud for its onward journey towards Torkham.

Sources said that eight out of the nine vehicles reached the NLC terminal at Torkham while one vehicle stayed back in Landi Kotal due to engine fault.

They said that customs officials were all set to promptly ‘clear’ the convoy, but they were informed by their Afghan counterparts that the WFO office in Jalalabad was yet to provide them with necessary information about the food assistance from United Nations so clearance by Pakistani officials was temporarily delayed.

Sources said that all the nine vehicles would most probably cross over to Afghanistan today (Thursday) as soon as they got favourable intimation from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

This was for the first time since October 12 that any customs clearing process was conducted at the Torkham border with both customs officials and customs clearing agents present the whole day on Wednesday to deal with the clearing process.

The border remains closed for all types of trading activities and cross-border pedestrians’ movement except the facilitation of returning Afghans, who have been declared aliens after their Proof of Registration Card, Afghan Citizen Card and Tazkira (Afghan national identity cards) were repealed by the Pakistan government after the expiry of June 30 deadline.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026