Afghan-Pakistan Torkham border crossing reopens after 10 days

The Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border, which was shut for 10 days due to the imposition of visa restrictions on truck drivers by Islamabad, was reopened on Tuesday, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The crossing was closed on January 13 after Pakistani officials at the crossing began asking for passports and visas from Afghan drivers under a new policy, prompting a reciprocal ban on Pakistani truckers by the Afghan Taliban authorities. The border closure had come in the wake of Pakistan’s decision to start expelling more than a million undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, on Nov 1, amid a row over accusations that Kabul harbours militants that launch cross-border attacks. Islamabad claimed that Afghan authorities had been conveyed the message on the imposition of the visa policy several times, but Kabul had failed to take any practical steps to adhere to international border crossing rules.