RASC News Agency: The Torkham border crossing has remained closed for the eighth consecutive day, disrupting movement, trade, and transit between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban officials in Nangarhar reported on Saturday, March 1st, that the prolonged closure has caused severe hardships for travelers and merchants on both sides, leaving hundreds stranded and awaiting its reopening. Despite ongoing negotiations, Pakistani authorities have yet to provide a definitive explanation for the shutdown. Stranded passengers have voiced frustration over deteriorating conditions and the exorbitant costs of accommodation in border towns, further exacerbating their plight.
The prolonged closure of this crucial trade route has inflicted significant economic losses, severely disrupting imports and exports between the two countries. Reports suggest that Pakistani traders and businesses have already suffered financial damages amounting to millions of rupees. This latest border closure has further strained the already fragile relationship between the Taliban and Islamabad. Historically, the Taliban were nurtured by Pakistani intelligence, trained, armed, and deployed to Afghanistan under Islamabad’s strategic directives. Following their return to power, Pakistan even played a decisive role in orchestrating the formation of the Taliban’s interim government. However, relations between the two have since deteriorated sharply.
After seizing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban’s overt support for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their growing cooperation with Indian intelligence agencies have deeply unsettled Islamabad. Initially, Pakistan believed that the Taliban’s takeover would consolidate its influence in Afghanistan and neutralize its security concerns. However, ethnic and tribal loyalties within the Taliban leadership have driven them to align with extremist Pashtun factions under the TTP, a group that has launched relentless attacks against Pakistan.
With strategic backing from both the Taliban regime and Indian intelligence, TTP has inflicted devastating blows on Pakistan in recent years. The group remains committed to establishing a radical Pashtun-led government, echoing the Taliban’s ideological framework, further fueling Pakistan’s disillusionment with its once-loyal proxies.
