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Saithan said:

Afghanistan: Pakistan fences off from Afghan refugees​

By Sarah Atiq
BBC News, Pakistani-Afghan border

3 hours ago
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An armed Taliban fighter (left) and an armed Pakistani soldier at the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani-Afghan border

Taliban fighters and Pakistani soldiers are now guarding the Torkham crossing side-by-side

On the surface, it almost looks normal on this part of the Pakistani-Afghan border.

But a closer look would show how much things have changed.

The tricolour flag of the Republic of Afghanistan has been replaced with the white flag of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, and in place of Afghan border security forces now stand gun-holding bearded Taliban militants.

They are now in control of Torkham - the busiest crossing with Pakistan.

A few days back, hundreds of panicked Afghan civilians gathered here for days, desperate for a way out.

Then what seemed inevitable happened: outnumbered Afghan police forces surrendered to the Taliban.

Pakistan, worried about a fighting spillover, had shut its side of the border prior to the Taliban's takeover. But after brief closure it was reopened for trade and restricted pedestrian movement.

Normally, about 6,000-7,000 people would travel between the two countries daily - but today there are hardly 50 people standing on the Afghanistan side to enter Pakistan.

It's taking longer than usual. Pakistani security officials say that they don't want any militants to enter disguised as civilians. That's why they have made the vetting process at the border more strict.

Torkham has been the main point of refugees' influx into Pakistan for decades.
An Afghan man walks with a baby at the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani-Afghan border

An Afghan man with a baby crosses into Pakistan at Torkham

Now the number of Afghans seeking refuge is much lower.

The Taliban are not letting anyone out. Only traders or those with valid travel documents are allowed to cross.

But it's not the only thing keeping Afghan refugees away.

Amid increasing violence across the border in recent years, Pakistan has been fencing itself off from Afghanistan. All border crossings are now heavily manned, making it impossible for Afghan refugees to enter without government consent.

Just a few metres away from the border, Ahsan Khan, 56, was busy taking out his luggage from a taxi. He was off to the Afghan city of Jalalabad.

"I have been travelling from this border since I was in school. There was a time when my father would take us directly to Jalalabad without any checks," Mr Khan says.

Afghans wait behind a fence to cross into Pakistan at Torkham

Some of the few Afghans waiting to enter Pakistan, at the usually busy Torkham crossing

Since June 2016, the Pakistani government has made a valid passport and visa mandatory for all Afghans wanting to cross into Pakistan.

"How can you expect Afghan refugees to come to this border when the people they are trying to flee are standing right here. And where would poor uneducated Afghans get passport and a visa in these circumstances?" Mr Khan asks.

A small market just a few kilometres away from Torkham is frequented by Afghans who had fled to Pakistan.

Owaid Ali owns a small food stall. He says he hasn't seen any Afghan refugees in the market since the Taliban took over the border.

"A few days ago when the Taliban were rapidly taking control of cities, Afghans who came here told me how worried they are at the prospect of living under Taliban rule. But I don't know how will they escape that life now," Mr Ali says.

Almost three million Afghan refugees, half of them unregistered, have been living in Pakistan for decades.

But now the government in Islamabad says it has reached its limit and cannot accept more people from the war-torn country, despite pleas from the UN refugees' agency.

www.bbc.com

Afghanistan: Pakistan fences off from Afghan refugees

Islamabad says it cannot accept any more Afghans fleeing Taliban rule, despite UN pleas.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...
Surprising. Maybe it is to convey some kind of message that Pak doesn't have much to do with the Taliban. After all Taliban is still a proscribed UN terror entity and Pakistan, the refuge of Osama is on FATF grey list for funding terror.
 
Tonil

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mulj said:
Good move, they should ask for recognisiton first before commercial activites with anyone who opposed them directly.
Click to expand...

Afghnaistan has no borders with India and doing business with them had zero benefits to begin with.. Good riddance. Imo Afghanistan shouldn't have trade ties with extremist state like India but they have borders with many regional states that are run by civilian governments with much more wealth and benefit such as Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan etc etc
 
Tonil

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I was seeing tweet propaganda against TALIBAN statistic and it says comically enough over 80% of the tweets and retweets are coming from India.. Lmao I was in tears rolling around... I am like dude you can cry a bucket of river...

Does this face really look like to you someone who can be gotten to or someone who even gives' a fly about anything let alone Indians living in a heap of poverty 1000 miles away
p09sf7pp.jpg


They are just wasting their time in empty discourse that is all it is... You can't touch my mojo
 
Kaptaan

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Some news for the people who keep bringing up the good, bad and the ugly. Pakistani media is reporting Sohail Shaheen has made it clear Taliban will not accept any TTP or Pakistan Taliban operating from their soil. So Pakistan can sigh a relief. TTP had sanctuaries in Afgh., but ANA took no action against them.

 
Tonil

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Am I the only one who thinks Afghanistan finally got a great flag. Compared to the last one it looked fake for whatever reason with to much coloring and this has nothing to do with my political view but the previous Afghan flag didn't look good because of to much color converging together whereas IEA has a unique flag and has different aura alltogether. White represent clean it gives it such aura of being clean

1.jpg
 
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Tonil

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Kaptaan said:
Some news for the people who keep bringing up the good, bad and the ugly. Pakistani media is reporting Sohail Shaheen has made it clear Taliban will not accept any TTP or Pakistan Taliban operating from their soil. So Pakistan can sigh a relief. TTP had sanctuaries in Afgh., but ANA took no action against them.

Click to expand...

IEA is very serious about it's stragetic partnership with Pakistan and doesn't want to spoil it over anything. IEA will not waste even if the heavens and the earth were to fall upon each other the friendship with Pakistan and it's people. Times change, politics constantly change and the prirorty of today is just different and IEA recognize that there is great benefit in Pakistan and doesn't wanna spoil it or weakened it in any form or shape
 
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