Pakistan signals reopening Torkam border with Afghanistan for UN humanitarian aid

ISLAMABAD: According to international media reports, Pakistan has indicated plans to reopen two major border crossings with Afghanistan to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid from the United Nations. However, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said yesterday that he will discuss the matter with the prime minister as well as the military leadership before issuing a formal response.

This comes after a weeks-long closure of the Torkham and Chaman crossings, which were shut down on October 12 due to deadly attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group.

Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, confirmed on Saturday that the United Nations had formally requested permission to resume aid shipments into Afghanistan. Speaking from Islamabad, Dar said that the Pakistani government had consulted with the military leadership, but an official response on the matter is still awaited.

The closure of the Torkham and Chaman crossings, which link Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces with Afghanistan, had severely disrupted the movement of essential supplies and aid. These crossings are vital lifelines for food, fuel, and medical resources for Afghanistan, a country already grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis.

The border shutdown occurred amid escalating violence from TTP militants, who are believed to be operating from Afghan territory. TTP attacks have claimed the lives of over 500 people in Pakistan this year, including more than 300 soldiers, worsening relations between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban, who took control of Kabul in 2021.

Earlier this month, Pakistan had briefly allowed the crossings to reopen to enable Afghan refugees to return home, but commercial and aid traffic remain blocked.