KHYBER: Repatriation of Afghan families, mostly undocumented, has gained momentum following an improvement in the verification process at the Hamza Baba Transit Centre in Landi Kotal here.

Sources at the centre told Dawn that on average, around 4,000 Afghan nationals were verified at the facility on a daily basis before they are repatriated via the Torkham border crossing.

They said that the administration, in a move to prevent overcrowding and irregularities at the centre, had asked Afghans to show up individually, while the vehicles carrying their belongings were sent across the border separately after necessary customs and security checking.

“We work in close coordination with authorities in Peshawar and other cities and allow vehicles to proceed to Torkham border point only after clearance by traffic wardens on the Peshawar-Torkham Highway and by Nadra staff at the transit centre,” an official said, requesting anonymity

He said that the centre cleared 800-1,000 adult Afghans, both men and women, daily with each of them accompanied by five minors on average.

Landi Kotal transit centre verifies around 4,000 Afghans daily

“The verification and clearance process takes around 15 minutes if the individual’s documents are found to be in order. Children under the age of 12 are exempted from this exercise,” he said.

The sources said the Afghan nationals with dubious or fake documents were thoroughly questioned and that all their credentials were duly checked by the Nadra staff.

They said they approached other family members, particularly parents of those without any document, before determining the fate of their case.

Officials said that an organised racket of human traffickers was involved in the fraudulent transportation of local women to Afghanistan for prostitution.

They added that a number of such women and their handlers had been identified and apprehended as they failed to prove their Afghan nationality during the verification process.

The officials said most of the returning Afghans were born in Pakistan, had never gone to Afghanistan and possessed no legal document.

They said such people were mostly aged below 30 and belonged to poor families, so they are reluctant to go to Afghanistan, mostly due to uncertainty about their future with very limited resources.

The officials claimed that around 200,000 Afghan nationals had been repatriated since the reopening of Torkham border on March 31.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2026