Pakistan eases its three-week border shutdown with Afghanistan to permit refugee returns, however commerce stays halted as fragile ceasefire diplomacy struggles to include wider tensions.

Pakistan has partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, permitting 1000’s of stranded Afghan refugees to return residence nearly three weeks after lethal clashes compelled Islamabad to seal all entry and exit factors alongside the frontier. Commerce and different cross-border motion stay suspended, highlighting persevering with fragility regardless of a ceasefire settlement between the neighbours.

The reopening marks the primary easing of restrictions since Pakistan shut down the frontier on 12 October after intense preventing alongside the Durand Line — the two,611-km disputed border Afghanistan has by no means formally recognised. Each side had claimed to have killed dozens of troops within the clashes, which triggered issues of a wider escalation between the 2 international locations already grappling with deep distrust and surging militant violence.

Officers stated Afghan nationals caught in Pakistan because the closure have been permitted to start crossing again on Saturday morning. Hundreds had been moved into a brief camp close to Torkham, whereas many others had reportedly been ready alongside the roadside. Native Afghan officers instructed the Related Press the gate had been reopened “solely for Afghan refugees”, urging all different travellers to remain away till additional directions.

Photographs launched by the Info and Tradition Division of Nangarhar province confirmed officers and Afghan troopers greeting returnees with flowers on the border gate — a symbolic gesture aimed toward projecting calm after weeks of pressure. Pakistani authorities burdened that the opening stays restricted and short-term, with regular commerce and transit nonetheless halted.

The partial leisure follows almost every week of negotiations hosted first in Doha by Qatar, then in Istanbul below Turkish mediation. The talks culminated late Thursday with either side agreeing to take care of the truce reached on 19 October. Officers in Islamabad confirmed that no recent firefights have been reported because the ceasefire started, an assurance seen as important for enabling the humanitarian hall by Torkham.

The state of affairs on the border has been additional difficult by Pakistan’s ongoing drive to deport undocumented overseas nationals, primarily Afghans. Greater than one million Afghans have been despatched again since Pakistan intensified its expulsion marketing campaign in 2023, a transfer critics say dangers humanitarian fallout and strains bilateral ties. Pakistani authorities insist they’re implementing immigration legal guidelines and performing in opposition to safety issues, citing a pointy rise in home militant assaults.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s navy claimed to have carried out airstrikes in opposition to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Afghan territory, saying dozens of militants have been killed. Afghan officers rejected the declare, alleging civilian casualties and stating Afghan forces retaliated in opposition to Pakistani navy posts, killing 58 troopers. Pakistan acknowledged shedding 23 personnel within the exchanges. The uncommon direct confrontation underscored the flamable relationship between Islamabad and Kabul because the Taliban seized energy in 2021.

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Ahmad Shakeeb, had warned on X that 1000’s of refugees remained stranded as a result of border closure. Pakistan responded sharply, accusing him of violating diplomatic norms. Overseas Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi argued that issues ought to have been raised by official channels, slightly than publicly on social media.

Towards this backdrop, Pakistan continues to face intensifying militant assaults, most claimed by the TTP — a UN- and US-designated terrorist group ideologically aligned with, however working independently of, the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad asserts that TTP parts take pleasure in sanctuary inside Afghanistan, a cost Kabul denies.

For now, the restricted reopening at Torkham provides short-term reduction to displaced Afghans and alerts de-escalation. But with core disputes unresolved — from counter-terror cooperation to refugee administration and border recognition — analysts warn that stability stays tenuous. As one Pakistani safety official privately recommended earlier this week, the truce is “a vital pause, not a long-lasting peace”.