KHYBER: With the number of returning Afghans increasing, authorities have arranged additional facilities for prompt verification and registration of undocumented foreign nationals at the temporary transit point in the Landi Kotal area here.

Officials at the Hamza Baba transit point said that they had registered the highest number of 6,000 Afghan nationals in a single day three days ago, with the average daily tally being around 4500 since the provision of additional registration facilities.

They said 20 more Nadra desks had been set up at the transit point for verification and registration, taking the number to 20 since last week’s visit of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

Earlier, the registration and verification process was slower as the tally of returning Afghans had increased manifold after the Torkham border was reopened for one-way pedestrian movement on March 31.

Earlier, the district administration stopped the issuance of tokens to the returning Afghans due to their influx at the transit point.

Afghan families in Peshawar and other cities were advised to approach the transit point in Landi Kotal only after the backlog was cleared.

Officials said that the system had been streamlined and the verification and registration process was made smooth, to the relief of the returning families and individuals, most of whom were stranded on roads, at a local seminary and outside of the transit point under the open sky.

They also acknowledged humanitarian support from residents of Landi Kotal, especially the Shinwari tribe who showed the much-needed magnanimity in welcoming a large number of Afghan families to their homes during the peak rush days of verification and registration.

The officials said that local communities also arranged for free food, medicines, beddings and warm clothes, especially for ailing children and women during their stay outside the transit point.

The district administration earlier arranged a temporary stay for the returning Afghans at a seminary near the transit point where they were provided free food and other necessary items along with issuing them tokens for entry into the transit point.

The Afghans were later relocated to a nearby under-construction hostel inside the Post Graduate Degree College as the seminary teachers sought vacating their building due to their annual examinations.

However, the Afghan families and individuals complained they faced hardships due to the change of their temporary “abode” as the under-construction hostel building was without all the basic facilities like electricity, drinking water, doors and windows while they were subjected to sleep on bare floors with no arrangements for proper bedding.

Local social activist Qazi Nazeem Gul told Dawn that much of the burden of the waiting Afghan families was shouldered by the local community as they not only provided with the much-needed essential items to those staying at the hostel building but had accommodated a considerable number of the Afghans, especially women, children and ailing people, at their homes.

He said that local volunteers also arranged for free medical treatment of a number of Afghans with particular focus on children and women as most of them were suffering from high fever and pneumonia due to the sudden chill in the weather due to excessive rains in recent days.

Meanwhile, the district administration issued a weather advisory on Saturday, advising the returning Afghans not to approach the Hamza Baba transit point without a valid token to prevent trouble during the rainy conditions.

A statement issued from Khyber House read that rains were likely to fall for at least three days, so in order to avoid any inconvenience, the returning Afghans should avoid approaching the transit point due to limited space and facilities at the centre.

The Afghans were urged to report if the transit point staff members sought bribes.

“The entire process of registration and verification at the withholding centre is free and there is no need to bribe anyone at the centre for the purpose,” read the statement.

It added that the Afghan nationals should show restraint and wait for their turn to get registered.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2026