Torkham closure causes over $45m trade loss

KABUL (Pajhwok): The closure of the Torkham crossing has caused trade losses exceeding 45 million US dollars to Afghanistan and Pakistan, while losses in exports and imports are estimated at 16.5 billion Pakistani rupees, a media report said on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that the losses occurred over the past month as a result of the closure of the key crossing.

Pakistan shut the Torkham crossing last month following cross-border attacks near the Durand Line, violations of Afghanistan’s airspace and retaliatory strikes by Afghan forces.

Sources among official and trading circles told Dawn that Pakistan had already lost over 65 per cent of the Afghan market to Iran, some Central Asian States, Turkiye and even India due to hostile and aggressive trade policies dictated by security issues since the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

They said that while big time Pakistan and Afghan exporters had lifted their capital from the export-import business between the two neighbouring countries due to the repeated border closure and a hostile environment for traders and investors, the month-long closure of all border points had seriously dented the confidence of remaining “bunch” of small traders.

kk/ma