KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The International Organization for Migration says its transit center at the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan has suffered major damage due to ongoing hostilities near the frontier, disrupting services for vulnerable Afghans returning from Pakistan.
The agency said in a post on X on Thursday that the facility, located in eastern Nangarhar Province at one of the busiest crossings between the two countries, sustained significant damage as clashes continued in surrounding areas.
The center serves as a key hub for assisting Afghan returnees, providing registration, protection services, and basic humanitarian support for vulnerable people arriving from Pakistan. The IOM said humanitarian personnel and facilities must be protected at all times.
The organization added that it will assess the full extent of the damage and resume assistance to returning Afghans as soon as conditions allow.
The damage comes as clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces, which began on Feb. 26, continue along the border. Pakistan’s military has also carried out air strikes targeting locations in eastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan.
The fighting has caused civilian casualties. According to the United Nations, the violence has resulted in at least 185 civilian casualties, including 56 deaths and 129 injuries, with women and children accounting for 55% of those affected.
The clashes have also triggered widespread displacement across eastern Afghanistan. UN figures indicate the fighting has affected at least 10 provinces and forced about 23,370 families, or about 163,590 people, to flee their homes.
Humanitarian operations in the region have been disrupted, with several aid agencies reducing or temporarily suspending activities because of security concerns, leaving many families without essential assistance.
The situation adds pressure to an already severe humanitarian crisis in the region, where communities continue to recover from recent natural disasters, including a powerful earthquake last year that displaced tens of thousands of families and caused widespread destruction.
Calls for a halt to the fighting from regional countries, including China, Russia, and Turkey, as well as the United Nations and humanitarian groups, have so far failed to stop the violence.
