Khyber’s pass. Its name makes you dream. At 1070 meters above sea level, the legendary road winds between the passes of the arid mountains of the Pakistani tribal regions to reach Kabul. A route steeped in history, once taken by Alexander the Great and crossed by the Persian and Muslim invasions. The route also for all smuggling, including arms and opium. And, today, the long-awaited exit door for many Afghans who come up against the tightness of the Torkham border post.
Here, it is the “zero point”. Where the Taliban regime faces the Pakistani state at the busiest border crossing between the two countries. Pakistani soldiers, machine guns in hand, stand within strides of Taliban militants, fingers beside the trigger.
Under the white Taliban flag on which is inscribed in black the chahada – the Islamic profession of faith: “There is no divinity except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” -, dozens and dozens of Afghans are patiently lining up. But only those who hold a visa for Pakistan or an authorization for medical treatment can cross the border. In other words, almost no one. A woman in a burqa tries to make her way to Pakistan holding up a piece of paper, but is quickly rebuffed. A coffin is rushed between a Pakistani ambulance and an Afghan ambulance.
“We belong to the same Pashtun people, we speak the same language, we belong to the same tribes. There is just this line that separates us, ”says journalist Rafitullah Orazkai.
On the Pakistani side, the passage is much more fluid. In the frenzy characteristic of the crossing areas, several men get out of their cars and walk to the border post to go to Afghanistan. This is particularly the case of Shah Idahmad, 30, who moves to Kabul with a backpack on his shoulders and a plastic bag in his hand.
“I just landed a job as CFO for TM4 RMC,” a company that provides security expertise to companies based in Afghanistan, he explains. “Afghanistan really needs skilled workers from neighboring countries,” he argues. Most educated Afghans have fled the country in recent weeks. “
Under a blazing sun, the man said he was in no way worried about his safety. “There is no risk at the moment. The Taliban will finally offer security to the Afghans. I trust them. “
Naseerullah, 18, returns home to Afghanistan with his cousin Asifullah after studying for a few years in a madrasa (religious school) in Pakistan. “I’m going home after spending three years here because my father is sick,” he explains. For now, entry is prohibited to Pakistan, so I don’t know if I’ll be back. “
Days of waiting
On winding mountain-lined roads where goats roam, a line of trucks laden with goods destined for Afghanistan stretches for miles. “The truckers wait four or five days before they can cross,” explains journalist Mehrab Shah Afridi, who specializes in covering the Pakistan-Afghan border.
A landlocked country, Afghanistan largely depends on border transport with Pakistan to stock up on goods. Shamal Khan, a 40-year-old Afghan, arrived the day before: “I am transporting clothes which come from China and which have passed through the port of Karachi. [au Pakistan] », He indicates.
The sun is scorching hot. Several truckers install a mat under their load to sleep in the shade. Others gather in several under the trucks to share a meal bought from a street vendor.
“We waste an enormous amount of time crossing the border,” said Shamal Khan indignantly. When the Taliban came to power, for ten days, there were no taxes at the border. But now reality has caught up with them and they are charging us around US $ 100 to enter the country. “
Single point of passage
For three weeks, the Pakistani government has been repeating that the borders remain closed to Afghans who wish to take refuge on the other side of the demarcation line stretching over 2,000 kilometers between the two countries.
Pakistan already hosts more than 2.5 million Afghan refugees who arrived in successive waves of exile triggered by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the civil war, the first Taliban regime and the war on terror led by the United States.
Only the border post of Chaman, in the north of the province of Balochistan, remains more porous. Rahat, 30, who was a police officer in Afghanistan and a security guard for NATO forces, managed to make his way there last week with his family. “I asked NATO officials to take us out of the country, but they did not want to,” denounces the man met in an informal refugee camp located near an Afghan market in Peshawar.
Since the capture of Kabul, those who worked for Western forces fear retaliation from the Taliban. “They asked us to go back to work. But me and my colleagues, we did not go. We were working with their opponents just a few weeks ago, ”testifies the young father. “I was very worried about my husband,” adds Muntaha, a red veil dotted with sparkles on his head. The situation was becoming dangerous for him. And what was going to become of me alone with our six children if something happened to her? “
Since their flight, the family have been living in a 3m by 4m room without water or electricity, along with Rahat’s mother and cousin, who also took part in the crossing to Pakistan. Every day, Rahat and his mother go to the market, nicknamed “Little Kabul”, to find work. “If they find any, they bring us food,” says Muntaha, as kites made from tarpaulins or plastic bags fly over the neighborhood.
If arrested by the police, family members risk deportation. On Tuesday, some 200 Afghans who had crossed the border illegally at Chaman were returned to their countries of origin.
At the border, it was a crowd, recalls Rahat. “There were thousands of people. Many Afghans were trying to get out and it was impossible to know who was Taliban and who was taking refuge in the crowd. “
It is precisely this kind of situation that the Pakistani government wishes to avoid at all costs, explains journalist Mehrab Shah Afridi, specializing in border issues. “Pakistan fears the entry of Islamist militants,” he said. There are a lot of anti-Pakistani sentiments within the Afghan jihad, and when the prisons were emptied after the Taliban arrived, many of those militants came out. “
An analysis shared by the Pashtun journalist Rafitullah Orazkai. “It’s extremely difficult to verify the past of every person crossing the border. Pakistan has been the target of terrorist attacks so often in the past. It is a real possibility of being targeted once again. “
This report was partially funded with support from the Transat International Journalism Fund-The duty.
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Reference-feedproxy.google.com