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Escape hopes dashed for thousands of Afghans at Taliban crossing
Thousands of Afghans trying to escape the misery at home have flocked to their country’s southern border with Pakistan, but their attempts to get across have been stopped by the Taliban.
Zakariullah, sitting on a dirt road in the trading town of Spin Boldak only a few hundred metres from Pakistan, says he has been turned back more than half a dozen times, sometimes violently.
“They say only people from the area with papers,” Zakariullah, a 25-year-old farmer and father of three, told AFP on the weekend.
“We want to cross the border to work there because there are no jobs here.”
The new Taliban rulers insist Afghans need to stay and rebuild their conflict-ravaged country.
“They tell people ‘It’s your country. You should not leave’,” said 25-year-old Rahmadin Wardak, who was also trying to flee.
On the other side, their Pakistani counterparts in Chaman were also stopping those attempting to cross.
“Every day, 8,000 to 9,000 people try to cross the border without having the necessary papers, and are turned back,” one Taliban border guard, Mullah Maulvi Haqyar, told AFP.
Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saeed, a Taliban official in Kandahar province, confirmed the authorities were asking “people and families to not leave the country”.
“Doing that, you lose respect for your Afghan culture,” he told AFP.
Sticks and Pipes
At the border, only day labourers and traders — all young men wearing traditional flat pakol hats and sweating under the weight of their goods — were allowed to cram into a narrow corridor topped with barbed wire that led to the next checkpoint.
A second corridor for other travellers lay mostly empty, with a few exceptions including elderly men and women loaded onto wheelbarrows seeking urgent healthcare in Pakistan.
But scores of Afghans are eager to leave a country on the verge of economic collapse since the Islamists seized power in mid-August and foreign aid money dried up.
Jobs have vanished while farmers are struggling with the impact of a drought.
The United Nations has warned a third of the population is facing the threat of famine.
Zakariullah, whose farmland was 600 kilometres in Kabul province, said he now hoped to find work in Pakistan. He would then send for his wife and children to join him.
But, like many others at the border crossing, the journey to Spin Boldak has stripped away his meagre savings.
Mohammed Arif said he left his home in Nangarhar in the east because he had “no money, no food to feed my eight children”.
Commotion erupted outside the border office as hundreds pleaded with the Taliban to let them through, during a visit by AFP on the weekend.
Guards wielding sticks and pipes tried to control the frenzied scene as a crush of people pushed to get across to sell their possessions — and keep hunger at bay for a few more hours.
None of them made it.
Critical Situation
Before the Covid pandemic and recent upheavals, the border was mostly open, with few restrictions for the tens of thousands who crossed daily.
But when the Taliban seized Spin Boldak early on in their dizzying offensive, Pakistan shut the gates and left huge crowds of stranded travellers to amass on both sides.
The crossing reopened when the hardline group ousted the US-backed government and assumed power in mid-August.
More Afghans arrived, fearing the Taliban would return to their brutal rule in the 1990s.
“At first, lots of people could cross,” said Sami Ul Haq, who monitors the crossing point for the UN refugee agency UNHCR. “Before we had up to 24,000 people coming a day.”
There were few restrictions at the crossing during the last two weeks of August, but then the Taliban and Pakistanis clamped down.
And on Thursday, the Taliban said they were shuttering the gates completely in protest against Pakistan — which has repeatedly said it would not accept Afghan refugees — accusing officials of creating hurdles for Afghans with the right papers.
The UNHCR has meanwhile not reported huge movements of people towards the borders.
With the war over, some Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have even returned.
But the agency last month said it was preparing contingency plans for up to 500,000 rushing into neighbouring countries by the end of the year.
“We need to prepare in case any change inside the country could trigger a massive displacement,” Bertrand Blanc, a UNHCR senior emergency officer, told AFP in Islamabad.
“For the moment, we are in a wait and see situation.”
US car giant Ford on Wednesday announced 4,000 more job cuts in Europe, mostly in Germany and Britain, in the latest blow to the continent’s beleaguered car industry.
“The company has incurred significant losses in recent years,” Ford said in a statement, blaming “the industry shift to electrified vehicles and new competition”.
The move will affect 2,900 jobs in Germany, 800 in the UK and 300 in western Europe by the end of 2027, a Ford spokesman told AFP.
“It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe,” said Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice-president in the statement.
The company also said it was adjusting the production of its Explorer and Capri models, resulting in reduced hours at its Cologne plant in the first quarter of 2025.
Europe’s car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles and increased competition in key market China.
Germany’s Volkswagen has been among those hardest hit, announcing in September that it was considering the unprecedented move of closing some factories in Germany.
“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation,” Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said at the time.
Ford had already announced in February 2023 that it was planning to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, including 2,300 in Germany and 1,300 in Britain.
The company said then it was planning to reduce the number of models developed for Europe, concentrate on the profitable van segment and speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
Ford currently has around 28,000 employees in Europe with 15,000 in Germany, according to the company’s works council.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, and the removal of the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, and Registrar, Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike.
The council, chaired by Ambassador Greg Ozumba Mbadiwe, comprised five other members: Hafiz Oladejo, Augustine Onyedebelu, Engr. Amioleran Osahon, and Rtd. Gen. Funsho Oyeneyin.
A statement released on Wednesday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, revealed that the council was dissolved following reports of procedural violations in appointing the vice-chancellor.
According to the statement, the council had allegedly appointed an unqualified candidate, disregarding due process, which triggered tensions between the university’s Senate and the council.
The Federal Government expressed dismay over the council’s actions, emphasizing the need for adherence to the university’s governing laws in decision-making.
“The council’s disregard for established rules necessitated the government’s intervention to restore order to the 33-year-old institution,” the statement noted.
In a related development, President Tinubu also approved the dismissal of Engr. Ohieku Muhammed Salami, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Benue State.
Salami was accused of suspending the university’s Vice-Chancellor without following the prescribed procedures, a move the Federal Ministry of Education had previously directed him to reverse.
Despite the Ministry’s directives, Salami reportedly refused to comply and resorted to issuing threats and abusive remarks towards the Ministry’s officials, including the Permanent Secretary.
The Federal Government reiterated that the primary role of university councils is to ensure the smooth operation of academic activities, strictly adhering to the laws establishing each institution.
Tinubu warned university councils against engaging in actions that could destabilize their institutions, as his administration remains committed to enhancing the nation’s education system.
The Ekiti State Government has reached an agreement with labour leaders in the state, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage approved by the Federal Government.
Addressing journalists at a brief ceremony in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, the Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Folakemi Olomojobi, announced that the payment would commence immediately.
She lauded Governor Biodun Oyebanji for prioritizing the welfare of workers despite the state’s limited resources.
“This development demonstrates the governor’s commitment to improving the livelihood of our workers,” Dr. Olomojobi stated, highlighting the proactive measures taken by the administration to ensure prompt implementation.
In their remarks, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Chairman, Comrade Sola Adigun, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Comrade Olatunde Kolapo, expressed their appreciation to Governor Oyebanji for fulfilling his promises to workers.
They confirmed that the new minimum wage would apply to all cadres, including employees in ministries, parastatals, agencies, and pensioners.
The Chairman of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), Comrade Femi Ajoloko, described the implementation as a fair and commendable adjustment.
“This decision reflects the governor’s magnanimity and his dedication to fostering a productive workforce in Ekiti State,” he said.
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