Afghan, Pakistani Traders Face Millions in Losses As Torkham Border Remains Closed

Iran's Foreign Ministry in a statement on Wednesday wrote that Durrani met Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

In the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran stressed that the officials of both countries discussed developments in Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Iran, like other countries, do not recognise the Taliban, but they have accepted the diplomats of the group in the Afghan embassy in both the countries.

Despite close relations of both countries with the Taliban, Taliban forces have had several border clashes with the Iranian and Pakistani border guards.

In the meeting with the Pakistan special envoy, Iran's Foreign Minister expressed hope that the continuation of negotiations between these two countries would contribute to greater peace and tranquillity in the region, particularly in Afghanistan.

This is Durrani's first official visit to Iran since his appointment as Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan.

Abed said that currently, between 550 and 600 trucks carrying export and transit cargo pass through the Islam Qala-Dogharon border crossing.

The Iranian head of Dogharon border terminal added that since the beginning of this week, the Taliban had put a limitation on the entry of Iranian commercial trucks into Afghanistan on the routes from Dogharon to Islam Qala and Herat, respectively, with a one-time entry limit in 10 and 20 days.

Dogharon border terminal is located 130 kilometers from Herat province of Afghanistan.

He explained, "The restrictions were such that Iranian trucks carrying export cargo were only allowed to enter the customs area of Islam Qala in Afghanistan every 10 days, or every 20 days from Dogharon to Herat. They had to wait for this duration to pass in order to re-enter the country."

This Iranian official said that Iranian officials held meetings with the Taliban officials at the border. According to him, in this meeting the issues that had arisen were discussed, and the Taliban lifted the time restrictions for the entry of Iranian trucks into Islam Qala.

Like other countries, Iran does not recognise the Taliban and despite its close relations with the group, it has had border tensions with the Taliban's border guards several times in the past two years.

Paryani and a number of female activists have been on a hunger strike calling for the recognition of the gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday night, Akbari told Afghanistan International that she was taken to the hospital due to her deteriorating health condition. She added that she has been discharged from hospital.

This women's rights activist added that due to the hunger strike, the doctors told her that her heart rate had increased and she needed more care.

Sabera Akbari and Roqaya Saei said that on the 8th day they stopped their hunger strike and entered a new round of their protests against the Taliban's misogynistic actions.

Paryani and a number of human rights activists went on a 12-day hunger strike in the Cologne city of Germany from September 1. This protest, which started with the aim of recognising gender the apartheid in Afghanistan, continued until September 13.

A number of other women activists went on a hunger strike in front of the Norwegian Parliament supporting Paryani and other rights activists in Germany.

He added that the current state of Afghan women is a major concern to him.

Maryam Rahmati, Afghanistan International's correspondent at the UN headquarters, said that although the violation of Afghan women's rights will be discussed at the General Assembly, it does not seem that Afghanistan will be the main focus of the world.

The 78th session of the United Nations Assembly is scheduled to be held on September 28 in New York City. The main theme of the assembly is “rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: accelerating action on the 2030 agenda and its sustainable development goals”.

Although Afghanistan will not be the focus the country's discussions this year, the situation of human rights, especially the situation of Afghan women, had been discussed in the United Nations Human Rights Council this week.

Member countries mainly criticised the Taliban for human rights violations. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, pointed out the deterioration of the situation for women, ethnic and religious minorities, and called for serious measures to tackle these issues.

On Wednesday, Kakar said that although many of these immigrants have valid documentation, they are still in limbo.

According to Kakar, these refugees have been detained since September 9. She added that on Wednesday, about 100 of these immigrants were presented to the court.

Many of these people have considered Pakistan as "home" since 1990, Kakar added.

She stressed that the rights of refugees and legal processes should be supported.

This lawyer mentioned the story of Mohammad, an Afghan immigrant in Pakistan, who has a valid residence card and yet the Pakistani police arrested him as an "illegal" immigrant and confiscated his card.

Kakar quoted Kala Khan, another Afghan immigrant in Pakistan, who wrote that he has been living in Karachi since the past thirty years, but Karachi police demanded bribe, and when the immigrant refused to pay the amount, they confiscated his card and arrested him.

In recent months, Pakistani police has increased detention of Afghan immigrants.

After the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, a significant number of citizens immigrated to Pakistan.

Human rights organisations have previously expressed concern about the detention and situation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.