ISLAMABAD: The government informed the National Assembly on Tuesday that 947 Pakistani students remain stranded in Afghanistan following the closure of the border in October last year, and efforts are underway to ensure their safety and facilitate their return.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry shared this information while responding to a calling attention notice submitted by PML-N lawmaker Anjum Aqeel. He spoke on behalf of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The minister clarified that although the students were unable to return, none of them were stuck at any border crossing.
Dr Chaudhry told the House that approximately 1,100 Pakistani students had already returned since the border closure. Most of them travelled back by air, while only about two dozen managed to re-enter Pakistan via land routes.
He stated that the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul was actively working to assist the remaining students, who had been studying in medical institutions in Kabul and Jalalabad.
According to APP, the minister explained that Pakistan decided to shut the border after the Afghan government failed to guarantee an end to cross-border infiltration and firing incidents originating from Afghan territory.
He noted that prior to October 2025, when the border was open, many Pakistani students regularly crossed into Afghanistan by land to pursue their studies. However, repeated cross-border attacks led to the border’s closure in October 2025.
The House was further informed that Pakistan held multiple discussions with Afghan Taliban authorities, including meetings in Doha and later in Turkiye. Although Afghan officials acknowledged that attacks were being launched from Afghan soil, they did not provide firm assurances to curb cross-border terrorism or eliminate militant sanctuaries.
The minister stressed that Pakistan could not permit cross-border terrorism to persist while maintaining open trade and travel, adding that the border closure was implemented as a security precaution.
Separately, lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttehida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) voiced serious concerns over difficulties faced by passengers at Karachi and Islamabad airports, particularly due to prolonged immigration procedures conducted by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials.
PPP’s Seher Kamran claimed that 51,000 passengers had been off-loaded at Karachi airport so far.
Members alleged that even passengers with valid travel documents had been off-loaded, and many had missed flights because of lengthy immigration checks.
MQM’s Aminul Haq highlighted the miserable and “pathetic condition” of Karachi Airport, saying no funds had been allocated for upgrading or expanding the facility.
In response, the parliamentary affairs minister said the government was developing a policy to operate certain airports under a public-private partnership model. He added that the UAE had already expressed interest in managing Islamabad Airport following the government’s outsourcing decision.
He assured lawmakers that all concerns raised during the session had been noted and would be forwarded to the relevant authorities for swift action.
At the beginning of the session, opposition member Junaid Akbar pointed out the lack of quorum, prompting Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah to suspend proceedings after a headcount. The session remained adjourned for nearly 40 minutes.
