LANDI KOTAL, Pakistan, April 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Hundreds of trucks loaded 
with beds, cabinets and even household firewood lined the road from 
Pakistan's mostly closed main border gateway into Afghanistan on Tuesday as 
Afghans pushed out of Pakistan prepared to cross.

Islamabad launched a deportation drive in recent years that has sent back 
hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan citizens, many of whom had made 
Pakistan home through decades of war.

Fraught relations that spiralled into armed conflict between the neighbours 
led to the crucial Torkham trade gateway being mostly closed since October. 
Officials told AFP that it re-opened for Afghan returnees last month.

Many said as they waited to cross on Tuesday that they hoped differences 
could be resolved peacefully to end a conflict that has killed hundreds and 
hampered deep economic and cultural ties shared by communities on both sides.

"If fighting starts on the border, it will become difficult for us and we 
will go back, and then we will face more difficulties," Fida, a 28-year-old 
Afghan national near the crossing, told AFP.

Fighting has largely abated in recent weeks after China held mediation talks, 
but the United Nations recorded dozens of civilian casualties, including 
deaths, from strikes in eastern Afghanistan on Monday.

The Taliban government blamed the attacks on Pakistan, which denied the 
accusation.

Afghan families, including children, clutched documents at the mountainous 
border crossing and carried household essentials, such as thermoses and rice 
cookers, as they lined up for immigration checks.

However, the pace of processing their trucks, normally used to transport 
commercial goods but now laden with the rest of their belongings, struggled 
to keep up.

Around 1,000 of the brightly coloured, ornately decorated trucks queued up 
along the roadside, with drivers resting under their vehicles to shelter 
during the long wait.

A Pakistani official posted at the border told AFP on condition of anonymity 
that around 4,000-6,000 Afghan returnees had been crossing each day since 
March.

"During this period, only their trucks carrying their belongings are allowed 
to pass into Afghanistan, while the trade route remains fully closed," he 
said.

Businesses and locals on both sides of the border have expressed alarm at 
mounting financial losses due to stalled exports.

"It would be good if Pakistan and Afghanistan resolve the issue through talks 
with each other and pave the way for trade," said Mattiullah, an Afghan 
living in Pakistan who was waiting to cross.

"This would be better for both neighbouring countries."