Nearly 200 Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan for several months due to the closure of the Torkham border have appealed for permission to return home, their representatives said on Friday. The students, currently in Kabul and Jalalabad, say bureaucratic hurdles and lack of coordination between authorities on both sides have prolonged their ordeal.
According to the students, Taliban authorities have asked Pakistani diplomatic missions to officially verify their details with a stamped list before allowing them to cross the border. However, Pakistani officials have so far refrained from making such formal communication, leaving the matter unresolved.
Earlier this month, the Taliban allowed a group of 26 Pakistani students to cross the Torkham border on January 12, after which Pakistani authorities also opened the crossing specifically for them.
A second group that reached Torkham on January 13, however, was not allowed to cross, as Afghan authorities reiterated their demand for official verification from the Pakistani embassy or the consulate in Jalalabad.
Student representatives said they had held meetings with the Nangarhar governor, officials at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, and the Jalalabad consulate, but no breakthrough had been achieved. Dr Noman Amir, a final-year medical student and representative in Jalalabad, said the ongoing tensions had multiplied students’ problems.
He said many students’ visas had expired, while dozens of others were stuck in Pakistan and unable to return to Afghanistan to attend exams and classes. Some students, he added, were unable to attend funerals of close family members in Pakistan due to the border closure.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul was in contact with the Pakistani community and that assistance was being provided to those who approached it. He said the issue would be reviewed after updated information was received from the embassy.
A Pakistani official said the border had initially been opened for two days, January 12 and 13, based on assurances from the Afghan side. However, Pakistan would not make any official communication with the Taliban authorities.
“If they allow the students to cross, we will open the border,” the official said.
