LANDI KOTAL: Tempers soared once again at the Torkham border on Friday when guards of Afghanistan and Pakistan exchanged harsh words after hundreds of Afghans were stopped by immigration staff to check their travel documents before they could enter Pakistan. 

The incident also caused temporary suspension of both vehicular traffic and pedestrian movement on both sides of the border which was restored after senior officials intervened.

Pakistani officials insisted that they had already communicated to their Afghan counterparts about Pakistan’s desire and efforts to regulate cross-border movement and making the possession of valid travel documents by all Afghans a pre-condition for crossing over to Pakistan via the Torkham border. 

On March 29, the border crossing was closed for some time after an exchange of harsh words between the border guards of the countries.

Sources said the Afghan guards had expressed displeasure over the alleged maltreatment of Afghan nationals going to Pakistan by Frontier Corps and Khasadar personnel. They had also registered a verbal complaint with their Pakistani counterparts over the matter. 

At one point during the verbal duel, guards on both sides had also pointed guns at each other. The Afghan guards had subsequently closed the border for more than an hour, causing inconvenience to commuters on both sides.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2016