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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday reopened the Torkham border crossing in its northwest for the return of Afghan refugees, local administration said, though trade between the two countries remains suspended through the border terminal since last month’s deadly clashes.

Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce fighting on Oct. 11 after Islamabad hit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan-affiliated targets in airstrikes in Afghanistan. Afghanistan said the attacks were a violation of its sovereignty.

The clashes caused border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Torkham in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Chaman in the southwestern Balochistan province, effectively halting trade and the movement of people between the two countries.

However, authorities reopened the Torkham border crossing for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees to their country for a day on Saturday, according to Mohammad Anas, a spokesman for the deputy commissioner in Pakistan’s Khyber district.

“Afghan refugees are present at Torkham and efforts will be made today to ensure the voluntary return of all refugees,” he told The Independent’s Urdu service.

In its report last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than 1.6 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have returned to Afghanistan.

Pakistan had decided in 2023 to deport refugees who did not have the necessary documents. Later, it decided that Afghan nationals with Proof of Registration (POR) cards or Afghan Citizen Cards will also be deported to Afghanistan. Around 75 percent of those returning from Pakistan were refugees who did not have travel documents, the report said.

A statement issued by the information department of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which is adjacent to Torkham, said the border has been reopened for refugees on Saturday only.

The border will be closed for other commercial traffic and passengers, it added.

Pakistan is a key exporter of goods, mainly fresh fruits, rice, flour and other edible items to Afghanistan, while it imports dry fruits and other scrap material from the country.

According to officials of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, around 3,000 containers have been stuck on both sides of Torkham and Chaman crossings, containing various goods.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan government spokesperson, this week told Khyber News that there are also Pakistani containers on the Afghan side that are loaded with goods brought from Central Asia.

“Politics and trade should be kept separate because this is causing financial losses to traders on both sides of the border and the goods in the containers are getting spoiled,” he was quoted as saying.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the administration in Kabul of failing to take action against militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which it alleges carry out attacks targeting Pakistan from Afghan soil. Kabul denies the allegations.

These attacks have caused repeated clashes between Pakistani and Afghan border forces, triggering frequent border closures. Both countries agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Oct. 19 which was extended on Thursday. Officials from the two countries are due to meet in Istanbul on Nov. 6 to firm up the truce and finalize a mechanism to keep militancy along their 2,600-kilometer porous border in check.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday it is assessing a new, 10-year defense pact between India and the United States (US), amid concerns over its potential impact on strategic balance and security dynamics of South Asia.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed the defense framework to expand cooperation on Friday, marking a “new era” in bilateral ties amid tensions over Washington’s tariff war. The framework is expected to provide policy direction for their ties.

The agreement comes as the two countries work to close a trade deal after US President Donald Trump slapped 50 percent tariffs on India, including a 25 percent penalty for importing Russian oil. Hegseth said the framework is a “cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence” and will increase India-US intelligence and tech collaboration.

It comes months after Pakistan and India engaged in a four-day military conflict over a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which saw the two neighbors attack each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery, leaving dozens dead on both sides before the US announced a ceasefire on May 10.

“India US defense pact is a very recent development,” Tahir Andrabi, a Pakistani foreign office spokesman, said on Friday. “We are evaluating the agreement, particularly with reference to its impact on peace, security and stability in South Asia.”

Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads since their independence from British rule in 1947, with the disputed region of Kashmir being the core issue between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

The two countries have fought multiple wars over the region and the recent conflict was also triggered by an attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 tourists. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, an allegation denied by Islamabad.

The US-India pact is an extension of a similar agreement inked in 2015, which had covered joint technology development, defense trade and military exchanges. It is likely to benefit both Washington and Delhi in terms of more support to counter

Chinese growth and influence over the Indo-Pacific region, said Bharat Karnad, an emeritus professor for national security studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.

“Considering how fast the Chinese Navy is growing, it is the largest navy in the world right now … Everybody needs help. The Americans need our help because we are locationally right there. We are a principal player in the Indo (Pacific) ocean basin,” he told Arab News.

“While we require the help in terms of, you know, their satellite intelligence … They have enormous satellite constellations that can pick up Chinese naval movements and so on, much farther than our own satellite constellation can pick up those kinds of things. So, you know, it is very helpful.”

A rising military superpower, China hasn’t fought a major war in more than four decades but has raced under President Xi Jinping to modernize its armed forces, pouring resources into developing sophisticated weaponry and cutting-edge technologies. It has also extended that modernization drive to Pakistan, long hailed by Beijing as its “ironclad brother.”

Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan’s imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems. Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise.