ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday closed the Torkham border with Afghanistan for all kind of traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad has said the decision has been taken keeping in view the directions of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). He said Torkham Immigration Center on the Pak-Afghan border will remain close till the fresh guidelines of the NCOC.
On the advise of the NCOC all types of immigration departure and arrival will be close from today at torkham Border till the fresh Guidelines of NCOC (Ministry of Interior) @OfficialNcoc
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) July 6, 2021
Earlier, dozens of Pakistanis had tested positive for coronavirus on return from Afghanistan via the Torkham border. Health officials at the Pak-Afghan Dosti Hospital in Torkham said that all infected people were quarantined at the District Headquarters Hospital in Landi Kotal.
The authorities closed the Torkham border for pedestrian movement in wake of the COVD-19 infections. Trade with Afghanistan remained suspended for several days but later the border was opened for cross-border movement after scores of jobless labourers and porters held a protest demonstration in Landi Kotal.
