Jan 6, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
Abuhuraira Muhammad Khan, 24, has been stranded in Afghanistan for the past three months due to the closure of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A resident of Swat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khan is pursuing medical studies at the Jalalabad campus of Spin Ghar Medical University in Afghanistan.
Khan had been previously stranded in Pakistan but after considerable effort, managed to reach Afghanistan by air in December, as he is in his final semester and could not afford to miss his examinations. However, he said that many students do not have the financial resources or connections required to obtain visas or purchase expensive flight tickets.
“I came here in December by air, but not everyone has the resources to buy air tickets. That is why many students are compelled to stay in Afghanistan,” Khan told Voicepk.net over the phone. “Although my exams are ongoing, many students studying in universities in Kabul are currently on a two-month winter vacation, yet they are forced to remain in hostels because they cannot go home due to the border closure.”
Calling on both governments to reopen the border, Khan said that the situation has affected students on both sides. “There are also many Afghan students studying in Pakistani universities who are stranded there. This is why we are appealing to both countries to adopt a mutual mechanism and understanding so that students can return to their homes.”
He added that if reopening the border is not possible, the government of Pakistan should arrange special flights, similar to those organized in 2021 when the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. “At that time, special flights were arranged to evacuate Pakistani nationals and foreigners stranded in Afghanistan. A similar arrangement should be made now for students,” he said.
The border between the two neighboring countries has remained closed since October 12, 2025, following clashes that killed more than 70 people, leaving many students like Khan with no viable option to return home. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harboring militant groups that launch attacks on Pakistani soil, an allegation the Afghan Taliban deny.
Mediation efforts between the two countries in Doha, Qatar, and Istanbul, Turkey, have failed to produce a lasting agreement, with both sides warning that fighting could resume. Meanwhile, Pakistan has expelled more than one million Afghan refugees and migrants back to Afghanistan in recent months.
Shahhabudin Khan, a student representative and a medical student at Kabul’s Aryana Medical University, said that at least 3,000 Pakistani students are currently enrolled in various Afghan universities and are stranded due to the border closure.
Appealing to the Pakistani government to either reopen the border or arrange flights, he said, “Although our exams have ended and winter vacations have begun, we cannot return home. We are forced to live in hostels in sub-zero temperatures without adequate facilities because we cannot afford expensive flight tickets.”
Last week, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that nearly 1,200 people had approached its embassy in Kabul seeking assistance to return home, including 549 students. By the end of December, just over 300 people had been able to return. However, so far, neither government has given any clear indication regarding when—or under what conditions—the border might reopen.