WorldPosted at: Oct 19 2026 10:21PM

Kabul/Islamabad, Oct 19 (UNI) Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan fell by 74% to $358 million in the 2025-26 financial year as prolonged border closures and worsening bilateral relations disrupted cross-border commerce, according to official Pakistani data reported by Dawn.
Figures released by Pakistan's Trade Development Authority showed bilateral trade declining from $1.3 billion in 2024-25 to $358 million in 2025-26, hitting manufacturers, transport operators, agricultural traders and communities dependent on cross-border business.
The Torkham crossing was closed on 12 October 2025 following deadly clashes between the two countries. Other crossings, including Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan, Angoor Adda and Chaman, have also remained shut to commercial traffic, the report said.
Afghanistan's transit trade through Pakistan has also contracted sharply. The number of transit containers fell from nearly 89,000, valued at around $5 billion before the Taliban returned to power, to 11,592 containers worth $367 million in 2025-26. However, the decline began before the latest border closures, as Afghanistan increasingly turned to alternative routes, particularly through Iran.
Pakistan exports pharmaceuticals, cement, plastics, rice, fruits and vegetables to Afghanistan, while imports include onions, tomatoes, agricultural seeds, grapes, dried apricots, apples, coal and unwrought lead.
The disruption has hit Pakistan's transport and pharmaceutical sectors particularly hard. Junaid Altaf, a former president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses and workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were facing mounting economic difficulties. He also pointed to higher logistics costs in the province because of its distance from major seaports and international shipping routes.
Pakistan's pharmaceutical industry has lost access to a major export market. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures cited by Dawn, pharmaceutical exports to Afghanistan were worth around $130 million in 2023-24. The loss of this market could affect production, investment and employment.
Agricultural traders have also reported substantial losses. Malik Sohni, president of the All Pakistan Agricultural Produce Traders Federation, said that before the disruption, up to 50 trucks carrying potatoes and 25 trucks carrying fresh vegetables travelled from Pakistan to Afghanistan each day.
Sohni said he had incurred losses of 180 million Pakistani rupees after the hostilities disrupted trade and pushed potato prices down. He added that potato cultivation had fallen by nearly half, warning that reduced supply could eventually drive prices higher.
Transport operators have also struggled to absorb the impact. A transporter identified by Dawn as Azeemullah said he had been forced to sell three of his five trucks because the prolonged closure made it uneconomical to redirect them to other parts of Pakistan, also adversely affecting exports bound for Central Asian markets.
Pakistani business leaders remain divided over the economic costs of the disruption and the urgency of reopening trade. Fuad Ishaq, a Peshawar-based businessman and former chamber president, argued that security concerns should take precedence and that exporters could seek alternative markets. Others have called for a sustainable arrangement that protects security while allowing regulated commercial activity to resume.
The trade decline comes amid deteriorating relations between Islamabad and Kabul over security, as Pakistan has demanded concrete, verifiable action against militant groups it claims operate from Afghan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
However, the Taliban authorities have repeatedly rejected allegations that Afghan territory is being used to launch attacks against either Pakistan or any of its neighbouring countries, blaming Islamabad's security situation on its own failings.
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