Local Taliban officials in Nangarhar have announced that the Torkham border crossing has reopened to passenger traffic following a one-day closure caused by heavy rainfall.

The disruption on Friday left a significant number of Afghan migrants stranded on both sides of the border.

Quraishi Badloon, head of the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Nangarhar, stated on Saturday, 10 May, that the closure was due to rainfall that affected Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office near the crossing.

According to Badloon, normal operations for passenger movement resumed on Saturday. While pedestrian traffic was temporarily suspended, freight transport remained unaffected.

Following Friday’s downpour, hundreds of Afghan migrants were forced to wait for hours at the border. Despite the closure for foot traffic, commercial goods continued to move across the crossing.

According to Dawn newspaper, over 450 cargo trucks transporting import and export goods, along with approximately 250 empty vehicles, crossed the border on Friday.

Decline in Migrant Returns

Pakistani border officials at Torkham also reported to Dawn that the number of Afghan nationals returning, many of whom hold Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), has declined in recent weeks.

In early April, an estimated 1500 Afghans were returning daily. That figure has now dropped to around 650 per day over the past two weeks.

Torkham remains one of the busiest and most vital border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan, serving as a central route for both commercial trade and cross-border movement of people.