Thread by @jenanmoussa

1/ I'm in touch with sources on the ground at Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Taliban now in control on Afghan side. I received really crazy footage of Afghan children walking in tracks of trucks to illegally enter Pakistan and sell clothes there.

@akhbar

2/ As you can see in the footage I obtained from Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan: Border is open for traffic. Armed Taliban fighters stand on Afghan side. Afghan flag has been removed and replaced with white Taliban flag.

@akhbar

3/ The footage also shows Pakistani border forces on their side of the border standing only meters away from the Taliban fighters on the Afghan side. All looks pretty relaxed. The trucks you see in the report passing from Afg to Pak are mostly carrying fresh fruit.

@akhbar

4/ Just to clarify the footage of children walking behind the wheels of trucks to sneak into Pakistan. This practice itself is not new, it's not related to recent Taliban takeover. It just shows you how poor many people in the region are &that those kids really have a tough life.

5/ Furthermore, sources on the ground near to Torkham tell me the following: Although border open and situation relatively normal, many Pakistanis who want to visit Afghanistan can’t enter as Taliban isn’t issuing visas yet.

@akhbar

6/ Also one source told me he saw bunch of armed Afghan Taliban on the Pakistani side of the border freely moving in Khyber District (formerly FATA Khyber Agency). The Afghan Taliban fighters seemed pretty relaxed.

@akhbar

7/ Although Torkham is open, Pakistan is worried that many Afghans might try to go to Pakistan. Acc to my sources, Pak has intensified patrols along the recently built fence with Afghanistan - thus blocking people from illegal crossing into Pak.

@akhbar

8/ Due to the Pak built border fence, one of my sources told me, some families in Afghanistan can’t visit members on the Pak side anymore. He, for instance, told me he saw people from both sides of the fence waving at each other.

@akhbar