On September 6th, 2023, gunfire erupted between Taliban Security Forces and Pakistani Border Guards which resulted in at least eight dead Taliban militants, three dead civilians, and one injured Pakistani soldier. The Afghan Interior Ministry claimed that the Pakistani troops initiated the confrontation and opened fire. Since that incident, the border crossing has been closed. However, after nearly 24 hours of intense negotiations, the two governments agreed to open the crossing for humanitarian aid.
Heavy firing at Torkham Border betweet Pakistani forces and Afghani terrorists . Torkham border terminal between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been shut down for any kind of traffic due to heavy firing exchange from both sides. #TorkhamBorder pic.twitter.com/FsyfaTh8yV
— Malik Ali Raza (@MalikAliiRaza) September 6, 2023
On September 11th, 2023, the negotiations reportedly broke down. This prompted the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment to consider using Chabahar Port, Iran as an alternative flow point of civilians and goods. However, by 1139 EST today, initial reports indicated that Pakistan and Afghanistan reached an agreement to reopen the crossing for “heavy vehicle traffic” for humanitarian grounds at 0900 local time on September 15th 2023.
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#theafghanpres #torkham #afghanistan #pakistan pic.twitter.com/wZQOJWPQlr— The Afghan Press (@theafghanpress) September 14, 2023
Since the United States and coalition partners fled Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has had considerable difficulty controlling its borders with Iran and Pakistan, resulting in deadly confrontations which have left dozens dead. This lack of internal control as well as tensions with neighboring countries is indicative of the Taliban’s inability to govern their newly acquired state. These foreign relations nightmares are exacerbated by international pressure to provide girls’ schooling and other civil rights as the Taliban seeks to reapply barbarism tactics at social control.
