Pakistani and Afghan border forces remained on high alert Sunday as the Torkham crossing, a key trade and transit route between the two countries, remained shut for a second consecutive day following a dispute over the construction of a new checkpoint. The border closure has halted all trade and passenger movement between Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. "Torkham border remains closed for all types of passenger and trade vehicles movement, and security forces on both sides are on alert," a Pakistani security official stationed at the crossing told Anadolu. No border flag meeting or communication committee talks have been scheduled to resolve the standoff, though efforts are reportedly underway to arrange discussions between officials. The Torkham border is one of 18 crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where decades of territorial disputes have led to frequent closures, disrupting trade and travel. Tensions between the two countries have escalated since November 2023, when Pakistan launched a crackdown on illegal foreigners, mostly targeting Afghan refugees, and initiated their forced deportation. Islamabad has also accused Afghanistan-based militants linked to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of carrying out cross-border attacks, claiming that the Taliban government in Kabul has failed to act against them—an allegation the Taliban denies. In December 2024, the Pakistani military launched airstrikes in Afghanistan's Paktika province, marking the second such cross-border military operation since March 2024. The Afghan Taliban claimed that Pakistani jets killed 46 civilians, including women and children, while Islamabad denied that civilians were targeted. — Agencies
