Pakistan ends Torkham border closure

JALALABAD (PAN): Pakistani border guards on Saturday reopened the Torkham border crossing for traffic a day after the gate was closed in protest against alleged torture of Pakistani truck drivers by Afghan police.

An Afghan official earlier in the day said 13 Afghan children died of extreme cold after their families were stranded in traffic due to the closure.

A Pakistani security official, Nisar Ahmad, told Pajhwok Afghan News people were allowed to enter Afghanistan at around 4:30 pm.

A large number of trucks and passengers had been stranded on both sides of the frontier after the crossing was closed on Friday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul on Saturday asked Islamabad to probe torture of Afghan passengers by unknown individuals in Landikotal.

In a tit-for-tat response, Afghan police subjected two Pakistani truck drivers to torture near Kabul, prompting Pakistani border guards on Friday to close the border crossing for second time in a week.

The closure stopped supplies to Afghanistan and entry of thousands of Afghan nationals into Pakistan.

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