[Islamabad] Pakistan has repatriated 50 Afghan children who had been used in cross-border smuggling operations, intensifying scrutiny of organized networks profiting from child exploitation along one of the most volatile borders in South Asia.
The children, including teenage boys and girls, were detained in recent weeks after being caught transporting contraband between Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to Pakistani officials, the minors were being used by criminal networks to carry goods such as cigarettes, electronics, and narcotics across the porous Torkham border, often at great personal risk.
Authorities in Pakistan say they chose not to file legal charges against the children, instead releasing them to Afghan officials following negotiations brokered by tribal elders. But the broader crisis remains unresolved, with thousands more children estimated to be involved in illegal border trade.
The Torkham border, a key crossing between Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, is a vital trade and transit point. It has also become a corridor for illicit smuggling operations that rely on the desperation of impoverished Afghan families—and on children too young to grasp the dangers of the work.
An economy built on risk
Local sources told The Media Line that Afghan children, some as young as 8, are frequently seen carrying backpacks loaded with goods across the border. Most come from families living near the zero point at Torkham. In some cases, children hide under or between trucks, squeeze into compartments, or cling to the sides of vehicles to evade detection.
According to Pakistani estimates, more than 2,000 Afghan children are engaged in smuggling at the border, with 400 to 500 crossing daily. Some are as young as 5, carrying up to 6 kilograms of goods. Officials warn that these children are paid meager wages and are often subjected to physical and sexual abuse by the networks exploiting them.
A 2023 report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of the growing prevalence of hazardous child labor in the border region. “Every day, dozens of children—some as young as 8 or 9 years old—risk their lives smuggling sacks of goods across the border, hiding under the trucks to avoid detection by the authorities,” the report stated.
A survey conducted in Nangarhar province found that over 2,500 children are involved in dangerous work at the Torkham crossing.
‘This Is organized exploitation’
Adnan Afridi, senior house officer at Landi Kotal Police Station in Pakistan, told The Media Line, “It is an unfortunate reality that Afghan children are being forced to cross the border in this perilous manner, while no Pakistani children are involved in such activities.”
“Despite the intervention of tribal elders and the return of these children, illegal border crossings by minors continue,” he said.
Afridi described the exploitation as systematic and said it was orchestrated by “an influential and powerful Afghan mafia” operating under contract-based arrangements. He said the 50 children repatriated to Afghanistan included 17 girls and 33 boys. “They were involved in smuggling various goods, including cigarettes and other prohibited items,” he said.
He estimated that around 700 Afghan children are actively engaged in transporting goods across the border. While authorities initially planned to charge the children under Section 14 of Pakistan’s Foreigners Act, those plans were abandoned after local elders intervened.
Afridi warned that if the children attempt to cross the border again, “they will face strict legal consequences.”
A humanitarian crisis at a strategic gateway
The Torkham border was reopened last week after a nearly month-long closure. While pedestrian crossings resumed shortly afterward, the smuggling of goods—often facilitated by children—continues.
Located approximately 34 miles west of Peshawar and 114 miles east of Kabul, the Torkham crossing is a key artery for commerce, travel, and migration between the two countries. But it is also a flashpoint for tension, plagued by periodic closures, violence, and humanitarian emergencies.
Local social worker Iqbal Khan Afridi told The Media Line that child smuggling has persisted for decades. He welcomed Pakistan’s decision to repatriate the children and take a tougher stance.
“Stranded on the Pakistani side, these children often spend the night hiding in streets, markets, or near hotels, exposing themselves to further dangers,” he said. “They have even been injured while hiding under massive trucks. Yet, despite the risks, they continue this work—earning nothing more than a few hundred rupees.”
Tribal elder Abdul Ghani Shinwari told The Media Line that children routinely fall from vehicles and are crushed to death, leaving their families devastated. “Nearly every day, an innocent child falls from these heavy vehicles and is tragically crushed,” he said.
Shinwari described the repatriation as “the first success of tribal elders from both sides in ending the abduction of minors, following a long period of efforts.”
Poverty and desperation feed the cycle
Sajjad Tarakzai, an Islamabad-based expert on Afghanistan-related issues, said child smuggling at the Torkham border has long been overlooked. He attributed the crisis to deep poverty and a lack of opportunity.
“With frail bodies and empty stomachs, they are exploited to smuggle small but high-demand items,” Tarakzai told The Media Line. “While Pakistan recently handed over detained child smugglers to Afghan officials through local tribal elders, this is merely a drop in the ocean.”
He said Afghan authorities have failed to address the crisis. “No Afghan government has taken serious steps to address this painful reality. The true number of innocent children lost to horrific accidents remains unknown.”
Tarakzai believes vocational training institutes in border areas could offer an alternative, but said the Taliban government lacks the capacity to implement such solutions. “These Afghan children are a consequence of decades of war and internal conflict in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the current Taliban government lacks the capacity to change their fate.”
Afghan Girls Face Even Greater Vulnerability
Maria Haidari, a Kabul-based activist advocating for children’s rights, told The Media Line that the exploitation of minors—especially girls—is driven by multiple factors, including poverty and the collapse of education systems.
She said successive Afghan governments bear responsibility. “Child soldiers are a global issue, but Afghanistan is the only country where innocent children are sacrificed in smuggling—for just a dollar each.”
Haidari warned that the long-term impact could be even worse. “As these children grow older, they become easy targets for recruitment by extremist groups, further deepening the cycle of exploitation and instability.”
She said that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have little reach in Afghanistan today. “NGO efforts to protect children's rights are virtually nonexistent across Afghanistan,” she said. “The situation has deteriorated since the cessation of US aid, further stripping vulnerable children of essential protections.”
Haidari said that while UNICEF continues to operate in Afghanistan, its capacity is limited. She called for an urgent and comprehensive strategy to address the crisis, prioritizing job creation and education in impoverished areas.
A Border Without Protections
Imran Takkar, a leading child rights activist based in Peshawar, said the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has become a corridor of risk for children.
“Smuggling and exploitation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border persist, driven by economic instability and weak protections, endangering countless children,” he told The Media Line.
Some children, he noted, are as young as 8 and face mental, physical, and sexual abuse. “A lack of resources and weak legal protections allow this exploitation to continue unchecked,” he added.
Takkar called for international cooperation and financial support to combat the crisis. “International organizations like UNICEF must be granted greater access to provide protection and assistance. Without immediate action, thousands of vulnerable children will remain trapped in poverty and exploitation.”
Repeated requests for comment from The Media Line went unanswered by both UNICEF Afghanistan and the Afghan government.
A senior official from the Afghan Information Ministry, speaking to The Media Line on condition of anonymity, downplayed the reports, describing the children’s actions not as smuggling but as labor. “These Afghan children are not begging; they are working hard to support their families,” he said.
While he acknowledged the risk of exploitation by criminal networks, he defended the practice as part of economic survival. “Child labor exists worldwide but is disproportionately highlighted when it happens in Afghanistan.”
He said the real solution lay in creating education and employment opportunities—but offered no details about any planned programs.