Pakistan-Afghanistan trade suspended due to border closure
Islamabad, Hilal Ahmad, October 17, AZERTAC
Recent border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have brought bilateral trade between the two countries to a standstill, with hundreds of cargo trucks stranded and goods worth millions of dollars stuck at key crossing points.
The border was closed following clashes along the Pak-Afghan frontier late last week, resulting in long queues of vehicles carrying hundreds of tons of cargo, including perishable goods. Pakistan imports vegetables, fresh and dry fruits, and other commodities from Afghanistan, while Afghanistan relies on Pakistan’s transit routes for global imports, including petroleum products.
Although Pakistan and Afghanistan have eight border crossings, most trade passes through the Torkham border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, connecting Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province with Pakistan, and the Chaman border in Balochistan, linking Kandahar province with Pakistan.
Reports indicate that hundreds of trucks and containers with perishable produce are stuck on both sides. Traders say the closure has severely impacted livelihoods on both sides, as bilateral trade supports hundreds of thousands of people.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce reported that 291 containers of Afghan transit cargo are stuck at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, while 500 containers are stranded at the Chaman border, 400 at Torkham, 100 at Ghulam Khan, and 100 at Kharlachi. More than six thousand freight trucks are stranded on both sides of the border.
Traders from both countries stressed that a prolonged border closure is unsustainable and expressed hope that the two sides will resolve the situation through dialogue. The skirmishes coincided with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India.
The Torkham and Chaman border crossings remain closed, halting all trade activities and causing a massive buildup of cargo at Karachi port terminals and border customs stations. Perishable goods are being sold at reduced prices, with the suspension of Afghan Transit Trade reportedly causing daily losses of one billion Pakistani rupees. Normally, around 1,000 containers move in both directions daily under the Afghan Transit Trade. Traders from Pakistan and Afghanistan have incurred losses amounting to millions of dollars over the past several days.
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