KHYBER: About 28 Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan since the closure of all borders on October 12 returned to Pakistan via the Torkham border late on Monday evening.
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The students, who had gathered on the Afghan side of the border early Monday morning, had to wait until evening as Afghan immigration officials insisted on official correspondence from Pakistan’s foreign and interior ministries to complete the procedural clearance.
Most of the students are from different cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with at least 15 enrolled in the medical faculty of Spinghar University in Kabul. The remaining students were studying in medical institutions in Jalalabad, Khost, and Paktia provinces. Around 20 of them were admitted in 2023, five in 2022, and the rest in 2024, financing their studies independently.
Sources said the Pakistani embassy had shared a list of the 28 students with Afghan officials prior to their departure to facilitate their return. Some philanthropists also helped arrange travel for the students, who had largely exhausted their financial resources during the three-month wait.
Another group of Pakistani students left Kabul for Jalalabad on Monday afternoon in hopes of crossing the border, with relatives urging Torkham authorities to extend border hours to allow more stranded Pakistanis to return.
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The students had been unable to travel earlier due to diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which led to the border closure.