PESHAWAR: The repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals was suspended on Friday following a cross-border attack from the Afghan side that left a Pakistani border security official injured late Thursday evening.
The Torkham border crossing, a key transit point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, had only just reopened a day earlier to facilitate the return of stranded and undocumented Afghan nationals. The crossing had remained shut since February 26 amid the launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq.
According to security officials, tensions escalated after a Frontier Corps (FC) personnel was injured in firing near the Awal Khan post at around 9:30pm on Thursday. Following the incident, paramilitary forces were placed on high alert.
Officials stationed at both Torkham and the Hamza Baba transit point said all relevant staff — including personnel from National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Logistics Corporation (NLC), as well as police and other departments — were present but instructed to immediately halt the registration process for undocumented Afghans.
Earlier on Thursday, around 220 individuals had been processed and repatriated through the crossing before operations were suspended.
Authorities confirmed that facilitation under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation (IFR) programme has now been put on hold due to the worsening security situation and what they described as “aggressive behaviour” from the Afghan side.
Earlier this month, officials had decided to enforce stricter measures under the Foreigners Act 1946, targeting undocumented Afghan nationals as part of efforts to implement a single visa regime and strengthen internal security.