Pakistan has partially reopened the Torkham and Chaman crossings with Afghanistan to allow United Nations humanitarian cargo to pass through, nearly two months after Islamabad shut major border points amid intense tensions with Taliban, Pakistani media reported on Thursday.
Quoted by Geo News, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the decision was taken on humanitarian grounds and would apply only to UN consignments. “Trade remains suspended,” he said, adding that Pakistan had “no problem with the Afghan people.”
According to the reports, Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce issued instructions to customs authorities in Islamabad and Karachi for the phased clearance of containers belonging to UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Food shipments will be prioritised, followed by medicines and medical equipment, and later other essential items such as education kits.
The two border crossings were closed in mid-October after tensions escalated between the Taliban and Pakistan.
