Times Report
PESHAWAR: The Closure of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan for over three months has inflicted substantial economic losses in billions of rupees at national as well as at regional level where reliance of business community is mainly on cross border commerce and trade. From export to bilateral trade, transportation business and revenue collection, the financial impact due to halt in Pak-Afghan trade is enormous, badly impacting economy of the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.These views were expressed by noted businessmen including Senior Vice-President of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and former Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry official Manzoor Ellahi.In a joint press statement issued here on Sunday, Zia Sarhadi and Manzoor Elahi while sharing an overview of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border closure, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is disproportionately affected due to its proximity to the border, ethnic ties with Afghanistan and heavy reliance on cross-border trade. Over 90% of Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan route through KP customs stations, primarily from Torkham border post.The province has suffered an estimated Rs 2.5 billion in export losses from halted shipments of goods like cement, textiles, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and agricultural products. While under the revenue head, the province has lost nearly Rs 2.5 billion during the first five months of the current financial year due to reduced trade activity and customs collections.Exporters in KP report over $4 million in daily losses, with stranded goods worth billions of rupees, they added. Perishable items have spoiled, and medicines, raw materials have expired, leading to unsalvageable damage.Under Afghan transit trade to Central Asia, previously 4,000–5,000 consignments annually has sharply declined, affecting logistics, transport, and related revenues in KPK.The broader economic consequences in of border closure in KP is industrial shutdowns and job losses.The businessmen claimed that up to 90% of KP’s industry depends on Afghan markets for exports and imports. Prolonged closure risks widespread factory shutdowns, massive unemployment, and threats to regional security amid economic distress, they warned.Referring to Transport and Labor Sector, they said thousands of truck drivers, laborers, and daily wage workers in border areas have lost income, with markets in Peshawar and other cities falling silent.While spoilage of fruits, vegetables, and other items has caused additional losses for farmers and traders.They said the long term consequences of Pak-Afghan border will be more sever as Afghanistan is shifting trade to Iran and Central Asia, potentially causing permanent loss of markets for KP businesses.They also mentioned a recent report that Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade has declined by 53 percent on year-on-year basis, falling from $1.26 billion during the first half of FY2024-25 to $594 million during the same period of the ongoing fiscal year (FY2025-26) mainly due to closure of border crossings between the two neighboring countries.The businessmen urged government to take a review of the losses wreaked by border closure between Pakistan and Afghanistan on both business community and revenue generation. They demanded for immediate reopening of bilateral trade to avert future socio-economic hardship especially in terrorism hit Khyber Pakhtukhwa province.
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