Current:Home > StocksPakistan effectively shuts the key crossing into Afghanistan to truck drivers -WealthRoots Academy
Pakistan effectively shuts the key crossing into Afghanistan to truck drivers
View
Date:2025-04-12 01:41:18
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan effectively closed a key northwestern border crossing with Afghanistan to truck drivers on Saturday, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said.
Noor Mohammad Hanif, director of Information and Culture department in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province said that officials at the Torkham began asking for passports and visas from Afghan drivers.
Truckers have for years been able to pass the border without documents so they generally do not have them.
Hanif said that, in response, Afghanistan is now asking Pakistani drivers for passports and visas.
In a separate statement, the Nangarhar governor’s office said that officials from both sides are in talks to solve the problem, and a “decision will be made soon,” it added.
The Torkham border crossing has been closed a number of times in recent months, including in September when it was shut for nine days due to clashes between border forces.
On Saturday, dozens of trucks carrying perishable items, including vegetables and fruits, waited on each side of the border for the reopening of the crossing, which is a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries for Pakistan.
Pakistan is concerned about the presence in Afghanistan of the Pakistani Taliban, which is a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has said many Pakistani Taliban leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and have been emboldened to carry out more attacks on security forces in Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban government insists it does not allow the Pakistani Taliban to use its soil to launch attacks in Pakistan.
This comes just days after one of Pakistan’s most senior politicians, Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam party is known for backing the Afghan Taliban, visited Kabul in an attempt to reduce lingering tensions between the two countries.
Rehman was the first senior Pakistani politician to visit Kabul since the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from the country after 20 years of war.
Tensions also exist around Pakistan’s ongoing expulsion of Afghans.
Pakistan has deported more than half a million Afghans without valid papers in recent months. Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. More than half a million fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Milton Reese: Stock options notes 1
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Lace Up
- Olivia Munn, John Mulaney reveal surprise birth of second child: 'Love my little girl'
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Josh Heupel shows Oklahoma football what it's missing as Tennessee smashes Sooners
- Julianne Hough Pokes Fun at Tradwife Trend in Bikini-Clad Video
- BFXCOIN: Decentralized AI: application scenarios
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Lace Up
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- A Thousand Lives Lost, and Millions Disrupted, by Flooding in Western Africa
- Can Mississippi Advocates Use a Turtle To Fight a Huge Pearl River Engineering Project?
- Cowboys' reeling defense faces tall order: Stopping No. 1-ranked Ravens offense
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Mother of Georgia school shooting suspect indicted on elder abuse charges, report says
- Spoilers! 'Mama bear' Halle Berry unpacks that 'Never Let Go' ending
- Milton Reese: U.S. Bonds Rank No. 1 Globally
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Annemarie Wiley Discovers Tumors on Gallbladder
MLB playoffs home-field advantage is overrated. Why 'road can be a beautiful place'
Falcons vs. Chiefs live updates: How to watch, predictions for 'Sunday Night Football'
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
In Ohio, drought and shifting weather patterns affect North America’s largest native fruit
Climbing car sales, more repos: What's driving our 'wacky' auto economy
The Trainers at Taylor Swift's Go-to Gym Say This Is the No. 1 Workout Mistake