Torkham border crossing
Torkham border crossing
تورخم باڈر کراسنگ | |
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UTC+4:30 UTC+05:00 | |
Control | Taliban Pakistan |
Torkham border crossing (
Highway 7 connects Torkham to Kabul through Jalalabad.[3] On the Pakistani side, the border crossing is at the end of the N-5 National Highway, which connects it to Peshawar in the east via the Khyber Pass and further connects it to Islamabad by other routes.
The
On 15 August 2021, Torkham was seized by Taliban fighters, becoming the second border crossing with Pakistan to be captured by Taliban as part of wider 2021 Taliban offensive. As a response, Pakistan temporarily closed the border crossing.
History
The location has been used throughout history by
Over much of the last century, there have been proposals to extend the (defunct)
In November 2001 the
On the Pakistani side, Torkham lies at the end of the N-5 National Highway. It is connected to city of Peshawar in the east. Transported goods arrive to Torkham from the port city of Karachi in Sindh province. Torkham is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the summit of the Khyber Pass. It lies on the most important supply route for US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan's government sometimes block supplies due to the American use of drone strikes in Pakistan.[6][7]
In April 2006 the
Pakistan has completed the construction of border gate, crossing terminal and other associated infrastructure on its side of Torkham border by July 2016. Border gate has been named as Bab-i-Pakistan and the crossing terminal has been named "Shaheed Major Ali Jawad Changezi terminal" after the officer lost his life in skirmishes against the Afghan security forces at the same border and in the clashes that resulted from the construction of this very gate. The flag hosting ceremony has also started just like the one at Wagah border crossing with India. Now no one will be allowed to cross border without proper documentations to check the infiltration of terrorists from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Work on the construction of the gate and associated facilities began in 2014 but kept getting delayed because of Afghan reservations and abrupt clashes. Pakistan plans to have similar border control measures at all six major crossing points between the two countries on the 2,600 km-long porous border.[9]
Climate
With an influence from the local steppe climate, Torkham features a
June is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 31.0 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 8.4 °C.
Climate data for Torkham | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) |
16.3 (61.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
26.1 (79.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
38.0 (100.4) |
36.6 (97.9) |
34.8 (94.6) |
33.4 (92.1) |
28.8 (83.8) |
21.9 (71.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
26.7 (80.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) |
10.5 (50.9) |
15.0 (59.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
27.1 (80.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
14.5 (58.1) |
9.7 (49.5) |
20.3 (68.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.3 (36.1) |
4.7 (40.5) |
9.1 (48.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
18.7 (65.7) |
24.0 (75.2) |
25.1 (77.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
7.2 (45.0) |
3.1 (37.6) |
13.9 (57.1) |
Source: Climate-Data.org[10] |
Gallery
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US soldier on the Afghan side of border in 2007
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Combined Joint Task Force 82nd Soldiers and logistics units walk the Torkham border crossing area with CENTCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center Director, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon, March 25, 2010, Torkham, Afghanistan.
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Combined Joint Task Force 82nd Soldiers and logistics units walk the Torkham border crossing area with CENTCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center Director, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon, March 25, 2010, Torkham border, Afghan side.
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Trucks crossing into Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Torkham in 2011
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Afghanistan's entry point at Torkham
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Inside theAfghan customs and border patrolstation at Torkham
See also
References
- ^ a b "ANP secure Torkham border" (PDF). ddrafg.com. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Towr Kham Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Collins Maps. Retrieved 21 January 2011
- ^ Lt. Col Gordon Phillips and State Department Representative Shawn Waddoups (August 22, 2007). "DoD News Briefing with Lt. Col. Phillips from Afghanistan". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ Pakistan, Afghanistan ink MoU on rail links
- ^
New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Pakistan blocks fuel to US forces, SEPTEMBER 06, 2008
- ^ "Pakistan 'to reopen key NATO Afghanistan supply route'". BBC News. 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^
"Afghan Police Secure Towr Kham Border". American Forces Press Service. April 10, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ "Torkham gate titled as Bab-i-Pakistan". 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Climate: Torkham - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
External links
- تورخم کې له محصول نه تېښته او افغانستان ته د مالونو غیر قانوني رالېږدول on YouTube, May 23, 2017, Radio Mashaal.
- پر تورخم تګ راتګ کم شوی دی on YouTube, December 3, 2016, BBC Pashto.
- Pakistan Enforces New Border Crossing Regulation on Afghans on YouTube, June 2, 2016, Voice of America.
- Afghanistan and Pakistan reopen Torkham border crossing on YouTube, May 14, 2016, Al Jazeera English.
- Torkham Gate Reopening VOA Aashna TV on YouTube, May 14, 2016, Voice of America.
- Images of Torkham found at Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System