Pakistani Medical Students Stage Protest at Torkham, Stranded from Afghan Universities

Approximately 30-35 Pakistani medical students enrolled at Aryana Medical University in Jalalabad, Afghanistan (and others studying in Kabul) remained stranded on the Pakistani side of Torkham, unable to cross for their university examinations. Exams were scheduled to begin April 4 at the Jalalabad university. The students staged a protest at the border checkpoint, citing financial hardship from extended waiting costs and academic damage from missing examinations. Pakistani officials had not responded to their appeals. The closure had been in place since the March 27 Afghan sniper incident. The students' predicament highlighted the wider impact of the border closure on ordinary civilians and educational institutions that had developed academic ties across the Durand Line.