KABUL, 01 October 2021, (TON): 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 media.

"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.

One Taliban border guard, Mullah Maulvi Haqyar, told media "every day, 8,000 to 9,000 people try to cross the border without having the necessary papers, and are turned back."