KHYBER: Border for­c­­es of Pakistan and Afgha­nistan on Thursday agreed on a brief pause amid on­­going clashes to identify and collect a dead body lying at Torkham Zero Point for the last few days.

However, the body, ide­ntified by Afghan authorities as a national, could not be retrieved from the __cpLocation due to delayed co­­ns­u­ltation among the Afg­han authorities and the time for the pause in fighting lap­­sing, sources told Dawn.

They said that local residents had spotted the body and reported it to security officials, while videos and pictures of the body were also shared on social media.

Sources said that security officials from both countries had agreed to constitute delegations of local influentials to identify and remove the body from the border crossing.

Five delegates from each side met at Zero Point after a pause was instituted at around 2:30pm on Thursday, with both sides holding white flags.

Mufti Ejaz, a senior member of the Pakist­ani delegation, later told Dawn that although the dead person was identified as an Afghan natio­nal, the members of the Afghan side had sought time to discuss the matter with higher-ups.

He added, however, that the matter could not be resolved as the Afghan side could not return till the 5:30pm deadline for the pause.

Shah Khalid, another member of the Pakistani delegation, told Dawn, they had to return to Landi Kotal after the expiry of the deadline after which cross-firing between border forces resumed.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026