Torkham border crossing

Torkham border crossing
تورخم بارڈر کراسنگ
View of Torkham Valley
View of Torkham Valley
Torkham, Peshawar, Kabul and some cities in pakistan and afghanistan
Torkham, Peshawar, Kabul and some cities in pakistan and afghanistan
Torkham border crossing is located in Afghanistan
Torkham border crossing
Torkham border crossing
Location in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Torkham border crossing is located in Pakistan
Torkham border crossing
Torkham border crossing
Torkham border crossing (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 34°6′53″N 71°5′5″E / 34.11472°N 71.08472°E / 34.11472; 71.08472
Countries Pakistan
 Afghanistan
Elevation
2,579 ft (786 m)
Time zoneUTC+4:30
UTC+05:00
ControlAfghanistan Taliban
 Pakistan

Torkham border crossing (Urdu, Persian, and Pashto: تورخم Tūrkham) is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connects Nangarhar province of Afghanistan with Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is the busiest port of entry between the two countries, serving as a major transporting, shipping, and receiving site.[1][2]

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 Afghan Border Police and Pakistan's Frontier Corps are the main agencies for controlling Torkham. They are backed by the Pakistani and Afghan Armed Forces. Torkham belongs to the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar.

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.

  1. ^ "ANP secure Torkham border" (PDF). ddrafg.com. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  2. ^ Towr Kham Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Collins Maps. Retrieved 21 January 2011
  3. ^ 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.