Afghan students of Pakistan universities fear missing exams due to border closure

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 18 (ANI): Afghanistan students currently pursuing studies in Pakistani universities and who had returned home after their instituions shut due to Covid-19 spread have urged Islamabad to grant them special permits to re-enter the country in time to sit for examinations in the now re-opened varsities.
According to Pajhwok Afghan News, hundreds of Afghans studying in Pakistan on scholarship programs have returned to their country about a month ago after the closure of their universities due to the COVID-19 spread. They have now been re-opened as the quarantine period has ended in Pakistan.
Maazullah, a resident of Nangarhar province who is studying at IM Sciences College in Peshawar, said that his offline classes started two weeks ago and only 10 days were left for his final exams of the current semester.
Another Afghan student, Faridullah Momand, said that he had returned to Afghanistan about a month ago due to quarantine but he and many other students were unable to cross the Torkham border to resume their education in Pakistan.
He also urged the Pakistan government to grant special permission to students who would be able to cross the border and attend their classes.
Students were mostly worried that if the border closure continued, they would miss their classes and the academic year without any progress in their education, reported Pajhwok News.
Tahir Nawaz, public relations in charge at the Afghan embassy in Pakistan, said that their efforts were underway to resolve the problem of the Afghan students.
However, Pakistan's National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in a statement said that the Torkham border would be shut until the next announcement due to high COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan.
Citing a source, Pajhwok News reported that only Pakistani citizens and Afghans with serious diseases would be allowed entry to the country.
The deadly third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had forced Pakistan to take several precautionary measures, including this particular border closure. (ANI)