The viral video is from April 2020, when Pakistan temporarily opened its border gates shut due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Since the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, thousands of Afghans have attempted to leave the country. Many people have tried to enter Pakistan and Tajikistan. Amid this, a claim is being shared on social media with a video showing hundreds of people rushing towards the Pakistan border, claiming that Afghans are entering Pakistan since the country opened its border to refugees.
However, the video was initially captured in April 2020. In fact, the original video shows Afghans in Pakistan going home after Pakistan reopened its border, which was closed for days due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Through the reverse image search, we found that The Telegraph had posted the video on its YouTube page on April 8, 2020.
According to a report published by Dawn, Pakistani officials eased travel restrictions to Afghanistan for four days on April 6, 2020. They opened the Torkham border in response to a request by the neighboring government because of an increase in the number of Afghan citizens at the border.
A Reuters report dated September 2, 2021, states that the bridge at Torkham is closed on the Afghan side because of armed Taliban soldiers. Also, pedestrian crossings have dropped sharply since last month due to tighter regulations. Pakistani officials have said that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections has prompted them to tighten their surveillance. According to the report, the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban had to work on the local level to make sure the borders remained staffed after Afghan forces left in August.
The same day, Pakistan temporarily closed the Chaman border crossing – the second-largest commercial border point with Afghanistan, due to fear of the Afghan refugees eager to leave the country.
Hence, considering a video from 2020 was circulated with a false context. Thus, the claim is false.
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