68 Pakistani students return from Afghanistan as Torkham crossing reopens for them

• Students stranded by prolonged border restrictions receive clearance to enter Pakistan

• Months of uncertainty end after coordination with authorities on both sides of the border

• Most students from KP pursue medical and professional degrees at Afghan universities

 PESHAWAR: As many as 68 Pakistani students studying at universities in Afghanistan crossed into Pakistan through the Torkham border on Saturday after receiving clearance from Pakistani authorities, bringing an end to months of uncertainty caused by strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul, students and officials said.

The students had been unable to return home after Pakistan tightened border controls amid deteriorating bilateral relations since last October, when fierce border skirmishes between the two neighbouring countries left dozens of people dead on both sides. Pakistan subsequently closed its border with Afghanistan to all movement and suspended bilateral as well as transit trade.

Relations between the two countries have since remained tense, with sporadic cross-border military exchanges continuing. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of sheltering militant groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces, an allegation Kabul has consistently denied.

“The Pakistani students who had been stranded in Afghanistan finally received permission from the Pakistani border authorities to cross into Pakistan,” Naheed Khan, a police officer in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber district, which borders Afghanistan, told Arab News by telephone.

Hundreds of Pakistani students, the majority of them from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are enrolled in medical and other professional degree programmes at Afghan universities because of comparatively lower tuition fees and easier admission requirements than those offered by many institutions in Pakistan.

Muhammad Noman, the representative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa students studying in Jalalabad, said Pakistani students had remained in contact with authorities on both sides of the border for several months in an effort to secure permission to return home.

“There are a large number of KP students studying in Afghanistan,” he said. “We had been in talks with both the Pakistani and Afghan authorities to allow us to return to Pakistan.”

Noman, a final-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) student in Afghanistan, said the Afghan authorities had already issued written permission for the students to cross the border.

“There was a delay in receiving clearance from the Pakistani side,” he told Arab News. “Last night, our students went to the border and spent the night there. This morning, Pakistani authorities allowed 68 students to cross.”

“Five more Pakistani students are expected to cross the border tomorrow,” he added.