Leaders In Khyber Demand Immediate Reopening Of Torkham Border As Grand Jirga Warns Of Deepening Crisis

2025-11-10 10:06:32

(MENAFN- Tribal News Network)

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A grand jirga was held at the Tehsil Chairman Office in Landi Kotal to protest the prolonged closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border, drawing a large gathering of Chamber of Commerce representatives, political and social leaders, customs clearing agents, transporters, labour unions, and tribal elders.

Those who addressed the jirga included Tehsil Chairman Shah Khalid Shinwari, Awami National Party leader Shirin Afridi, Chamber of Commerce President Yousaf Afridi, President of Torkham Customs Clearing Agents Association Mujeeb Shinwari, former president of the Transport Union Haji Shakir Afridi, Malik Masil Shinwari, Mirajuddin Shinwari and Israr Shinwari among others.

Speakers said that although the border had faced difficult conditions in the past, it had never remained closed for such a long period. They warned that business and trade activities had been severely crippled, sources of livelihood wiped out, and the labour class pushed into acute hardship.

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They added that the rulers of both countries were trapped in obstinacy and ego, paying no attention to the suffering of the poor and the issues faced by the Pashtun population. The jirga members said that even during the most violent years of terrorism, the border had never been shut in this manner, yet more than a month had passed and the crossing remained closed, affecting only the Pashtun people on both sides.
Participants demanded the formation of a grand jirga comprising tribal elders, business leaders, and socio-political figures to be sent to Afghanistan for dialogue aimed at resolving the issues between the two countries and reopening the border to ease the public's miseries. They also called upon elders in Afghanistan to play a constructive and positive role in the process.

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