- Pak-Afghan ceasefire holds, next round due on November 6.
- Both sides agree on truce monitoring, verification mechanism.
- Trade activities between two countries remain suspended.
KHYBER: A day after Islamabad and Kabul agreed to uphold a ceasefire during rounds of talks in Istanbul, Pakistan reopened the Torkham border crossing on Saturday to facilitate the repatriation of illegal Afghan refugees.
The repatriation of Afghan families from Pakistan was halted on October 11 due to border clashes between the two neighbouring countries.
The clashes, which continued for several days before a ceasefire was brokered in Doha on October 19, had prompted Pakistan to seal all its borders with Afghanistan for trade and travel.
According to Deputy Commissioner Khyber Bilal Shahid, the Torkham border crossing was temporarily reopened after 21 days to allow illegal Afghan residents to return to their country.
He said hundreds of Afghan nationals had arrived at the Torkham immigration centre, where authorities were completing formalities before permitting them to enter Afghanistan.
The deputy commissioner, however, said trade activities and pedestrian movement across the border will remain suspended until further notice.
Following six days of talks, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime agreed to uphold the ceasefire, Turkiye’s foreign ministry said late Thursday.
“Further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided in a principal-level meeting in Istanbul on 6 November 2025,” read a joint statement on the talks through the mediation of Turkiye and Qatar.
It further said that the meetings were held in Istanbul from October 25-30, aimed at solidifying the ceasefire which was agreed by Afghanistan and Pakistan in Doha on October 18-19.
“All parties have agreed to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and impose a penalty on the violating party,” it added.
A day earlier, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi had said that Islamabad does not want further tensions with Afghanistan, expressing hope that the Taliban regime would not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan.
He had said Pakistan had repeatedly provided evidence of the activities of “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” on Afghan soil.
Commenting on tensions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the spox had said Pakistan gave a strong response to aggression from the Afghan side. “Pakistan will defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty under all circumstances.”
Islamabad-Kabul tensions
Pakistan has been grappling with rising terror incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban regime took power in 2021.
The government in Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban regime to rein in terrorist groups responsible for countless attacks in Pakistan.
However, the Taliban regime largely remained indifferent to Pakistan’s demands and provided refuge to multiple terrorist groups targeting security forces and civilians.
Instead of addressing Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border terrorism, the Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the border on October 12.
The Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated swiftly, killing over 200 Taliban fighters and affiliated militants; however, as many as 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the border clashes.
The security forces also conducted strikes inside Afghanistan, including in Kabul, destroying terrorists’ hideouts in the country.
Hostilities between forces of the two nations ceased after Pakistan accepted the Taliban regime’s request for a temporary ceasefire on October 17.
Delegations from the two countries later met for talks mediated by Qatar in Doha, where they agreed on a ceasefire agreement.
Turkiye then hosted the second round of talks in Istanbul, which began on October 25 and continued till October 31.
The two sides would meet again in the next round scheduled for November 6.
