Border Management: Case Study of Torkhum Border, Pakistan

The Pakistani government has decided to enforce an effective border management mechanism in 2016 in an attempt to regulate various issues that had remained unregulated for a long period of time due to internal and external factors, such as transboundary ethnic bonds and foreign powers interferences in the region. This paper analyses border management in Torkhum city by assessing its impact on trade, security, and citizen-exchanges. The paper shows that the adoption of the new border management mechanism has not been smooth. The new regulations have led to widespread discontent in the population despite a reduction of incidents of militancy. This study indicates that the growing discontentment among the people dependent on the Torkhum border is condensing into political unity, resulting in greater alliance with the Pakistan Tahaffuz Movement. As a consequence, the influence of the central government is gradually being undermined, as evident from the hostility against the presence of the military in the area. The paper concludes with the view that the border management initiative at Torkham is a prudent and required step, which ought to be studied and developed further.