Border Crossings: edit in the Nation, July 25, 2016

After the recent spate of tensions at Torkham and the subsequent closing of the border that disrupted the lives of people especially the tribes people, a jirga of tribal elders vowed to support the government in establishing peace and bringing life at Torkham border back to normal on Saturday. The welcomed initiative was taken at Landikotal, where the tribesmen committed to play their role for the restoration of peace at the border at any cost without any hesitation and fear for the sake of the country that has allowed their way of life and freedom of movement across the border for so long.
Renowned tribal elder Malik Darya Khan Afridi led the jirga that attracted known tribal elders from three Khyber Agency based tribes; Afridis, Shinwaris, and Shelmanis.
The support of the people and the tribal elders to enforce stricter border management is absolutely essential and crucial for the government of Pakistan.The tribal elders are acutely aware of the security problems and decades of militancy that has affected their land and hence welcome these restrictions and support the repatriation of the estimated 200 Afghan families that reside in the areas.The people of the land that have roamed between the two borders for centuries, have the largest stake in recent developments.While they welcomed the restrictions at the Torkham, they appealed that it should not adversely affect the local business activities and inter-relations between people being lived on the both sides of the border.Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi has also appealed to Pakistan and Afghanistan not to impose a complete ban on the FATA tribesmen from freely crossing the Torkham border and suggested Rahdari cards as alternatives for visas during a border crossing.He said thousands of Pakistanis run their import and export businesses on the Afghan side of the Torkham border.
The elders stressed upon the officials to take into confidence the tribal elders before implementing necessary policy to avoid uncertainty between the masses and the government.
This is a reasonable demand for the support of the elders and in time the Pakistan government will hopefully resolve the issues they face to make border crossings for the sake of trade activities and maintaining relations more efficient and streamlined, keeping in view issues of peace and security.http://nation.com.pk/editorials/25-Jul-2016/border-crossings