The Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday that the closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border was “temporary” and a decision on reopening it would be taken in view of developments in the upcoming days.

The Torkham border was closed on September 6 after at least two people, including a Frontier Corps (FC) official, were injured when a gun battle erupted between Pakistan and Afghan border forces.

Officials in Pakistan blamed the other side for starting the midday firefight, which lasted for around two hours and came after the Afghan authorities started building a checkpoint on their side in a prohibited area, close to the main border crossing.

The Afghan authorities already had a checkpoint, commonly known as the Larram Post, in the vicinity, but they started building another post over a small hill without discussing it with the Pakistani side.

On September 11, a meeting between Pakistani and Afghan border security officials to reach an agreement over the reopening of the border remained inconclusive.

A day earlier, scores of political activists, transporters, traders, Customs clearing agent, labourers and representatives of local organisations held a protest demonstration against the prolonged closure of the Torkham border.

They termed the closure of Torkham border an economic murder of the people affiliated with bilateral trade and other manual jobs. The protesters also warned that an indefinite protest sit-in would be staged at the Zero Point if the border crossing was not reopened within two days.

During a question and answer session at a weekly press briefing today, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan had been implementing the Afghanistan and Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement — signed in 2020 — “in good faith”.

“We have facilitated our landlocked neighbour in their access to the rest of the world in terms of trade and we will continue to do so.”

However, she said Pakistan had some concerns regarding the misuse of the transit trade agreement on which it would engage with the Afghan government.

“Our major concern is that sometimes the exports that are meant for Afghanistan are diverted back to Pakistan and the customs duties and taxes are not paid as they should be. So, there are certain concerns of our customs authorities that people are misusing the bilateral provisions that allow for trade with Afghanistan,” Baloch added.

In response to another question pertaining to the closure of the border, Baloch said Pakistan was concerned about the security threat emanating from Afghanistan and referred to the Sep 6 incident in Chitral — when at least four security men embraced martyrdom while more than 16 fighters were killed as militants’ attempts to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan were foiled by troops deployed along the border with the neighouring country.

“We believe that such incidents embolden the terrorists and that is why it is important for the Afghan interim authorities to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to threaten Pakistan,” she maintained.

The FO further added that action against Afghan refugees “harboring terror links” will be taken as per the laws.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued today, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires (CdA) to Afghanistan Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani met Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed the recent hike in terror incidents, the closure of the Torkham border, and arrests of Afghan migrants in Pakistan. Deliberations were also held on the bar on the transit of goods of Afghan traders in Karachi.

The statement said Muttaqi and Nizamani stressed taking immediate steps to find solutions to the aforementioned problems and vowed to prevent such incidents in the future.

Army chief’s visit to Turkiye

In her briefing today, Baloch talked about the visit of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir to Turkiye. She said the army chief called on the Turkish president and met with the foreign minister, the defense minister, and commanders of the Turkish army.

“During these meetings, the focus has been on enhanced defense collaboration between Pakistan and Turkiye,” she said.

A day earlier, the military’s media affairs wing quoted Gen Munir as saying that Pakistan and Turkiye had strong brotherly relations that had always stood the test of times.

“Pakistan Army is always willing to extend full support to the Turkish Land Forces in multiple domains. Pakistan has always stood with their Turkish brothers in times of calamity and moments of triumph and shall continue to strengthen the fraternal ties amongst the two nations,” the COAS said.

PM Kakar to address UNGA on Sep 22

Earlier, Baloch also revealed that Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar would participate in the high-level debate of the 78th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York from September 18-23. Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani will accompany the Prime Minister.

According to the FO, the premier would address the UN General Assembly on 22 September 2023 during which he would outline Pakistan’s perspective on a range of regional and global issues of concern including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute “which is among the longest-standing unresolved items on the UN agenda”.

“The prime minister will elaborate on the significant measures being taken by the caretaker government to consolidate Pakistan’s economic recovery and efforts to mobilise domestic and external investment.”

Moreover, the PM would also participate in a Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other high-level meetings organised under the auspice of the UN General Assembly. These will afford valuable platforms to deliberate on effective measures required at the global level for addressing the most pressing economic and development challenges confronting the Global South in the wake of the Covid pandemic, geo-political contestations, and climate change.

“On the sidelines of the UNGA session, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from various countries as well as with the Heads of International Organisations, Philanthropic Organisations and corporate leaders. He will also avail of the opportunity to engage with other Heads of State and Government attending the UNGA session during the various activities organised on the sidelines. The prime minister will also hold interactions with the international media,” the FO added.