• From $1.3 billion in FY24-25, bilateral trade has fallen to a little over $350 million in FY25-26
• Traders call for balancing security and commerce needs
asserted
Traders → fall → security
The sprawling terminal at Torkham, built at the cost of several billion rupees, wears a deserted look as a protracted conflict continues to overshadow trade ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
asserted
conflict → sprawl → Pakistan
Islamabad remains adamant that there can be no engagement with Kabul without tangible action against terrorists operating from its soil, but the relationship remains in suspended animation due to the intransigence of the Taliban regime.
asserted
relationship → remain → regime
Industries in Pakistan, especially transport and pharmaceuticals, have been facing heavy losses since the border closed on Oct 12, 2025, following deadly clashes between the two countries.
asserted
border → face → countries
Besides Torkham, other border crossings, including Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan and Angoor Adda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chaman in Balochistan, have also remained closed for all kinds of trade.
asserted
crossings → include → trade
Figures released in July showed that Afghan Transit Trade, which stood at nearly 89,000 containers valued at $5 billion before the return of the Taliban, had plunged to just 11,592 containers worth $367 million in the outgoing fiscal year.
asserted
which → release → year
According to data on bilateral trade, released by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) earlier this year, Pak-Afghan trade witnessed a drop of 74pc in the last fiscal, from one year prior.
uncertain
trade → accord → fiscal
Figures show that bilateral trade fell from $1.3bn in 2024-25 to $358m in 2025-26.
asserted
trade → show → 2025
A 95pc decline was recorded in bilateral trade in 2026-27 compared with the previous year, according to the TDAP figures released in August.
uncertain
decline → record → August
Pakistani exports to Afghanistan include pharmaceutical products, cement, plastics, rice, fruits and vegetables among others, while major imports include onions, tomatoes, seeds, grapes, dried apricots, apples, coal, and unwrought lead.
Junaid Altaf, a former president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), said the business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa endured increasingly difficult economic challenges due to the prolonged closure of the Pak-Afghan border.
asserted
community → include → border
“For a province already facing structural economic disadvantages, the closure has not merely disrupted a trade route, it has further weakened the economic opportunities on which its businesses, workers and border communities depend,” he deplored.
asserted
he → face → which
Mr Altaf said that unlike Karachi and Lahore, Peshawar and the rest of KP faced higher logistics costs for many manufacturing and trading activities.
asserted
Peshawar → say → activities
“Being far from seaports and major international shipping gateways adds to the cost of importing raw materials, transporting them to factories, manufacturing finished products and subsequently distributing those products across Pakistan or exporting them to international markets.
asserted
Being → add → markets
Against this backdrop, the Pakistan-Afghanistan trade corridor has historically represented a major economic opportunity for KP, he said, highlighting the potential of KP to become a stronger pharmaceutical production and export centre.
asserted
KP → represent → potential
The pharmaceutical sector accounted for approximately $130m in exports to Afghanistan in FY23-24, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
uncertain
sector → account → Statistics
This figure illustrates that the loss of access to the Afghan market is a significant commercial setback with implications for production, investment and employment.
asserted
loss → illustrate → production
Saying that the KP business community deserved a clear and sustainable way forward, Mr Altaf suggested that the objective should not be trade at any cost, nor should it be indefinite economic isolation.
uncertain
it → say → cost
“It should be secure borders, regulated trade, competitive industry and shared prosperity,” he opined.
asserted
he → share → ?
Malik Sohni, president of the All Pakistan Agricultural Produce Traders Federation, said that Afghanistan was a huge market for Pakistani potatoes.
asserted
Afghanistan → say → potatoes
Up to 50 trucks carrying potatoes used to cross into Afghanistan daily, while 25 trucks of green vegetables also passed daily, he said, adding that the border closure badly hit the potato market, reducing crop cultivation by almost half.
asserted
closure → carry → half
“Potato prices will go up in the coming months as demand will rise against limited supply,” Mr Sohni feared.
asserted
Sohni → go → supply
He claimed that he faced a loss of Rs180m when potato prices crashed after the sudden flare in hostilities.
asserted
prices → claim → hostilities
He added that the border closure also affected Pakistani exports to Central Asia.
asserted
closure → add → Asia
Besides exports and imports, a large number of people from across KP, particularly in Khyber, have been associated with the transport business and they have fallen on hard times as well.
asserted
they → associate → times
Azeemullah, a transporter, said that due to the prolonged border closure, he had to sell three of his five trucks.
asserted
he → say → trucks
“The transport sector of KP is nearly ruined,” he lamented, adding that diverting these trucks to other parts of the country was not economically viable.
asserted
diverting → ruin → country
However, Fuad Ishaq, a Peshawar-based businessman and former president of the SCCI, held different views.
asserted
Ishaq → base → views
“I am of the view that we cannot compromise our security for just $800m in trade a year.”
asserted
we → compromise → trade
He said Afghanistan had a 45m population, roughly the same as KP, and the items normally exported there could be directed somewhere else.
uncertain
items → say → KP
He claimed that cutting off ties with Afghanistan also reduced the burden on hospitals and schools in Pakistan, which he described as a positive development.
asserted
he → claim → development
“We should have trade, but security comes first,” Mr Ishaq stressed.
asserted
Ishaq → have → trade
The Aporia
