FOR decades, the trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been the main source of income for thousands of families living on both sides of the border. Billions of rupees worth of goods including fresh fruits and vegetables move across the border every year.
As the political and security problem surfaced last year, the main border points like Torkham and Chaman were closed in October, 2025, which resulted in heavy financial losses to the local wholesale traders, shopkeepers and farmers.
Rehman Gul, a veteran commission agent, spent 21 years building a supply network that moved farm produce across the border.
Mr Gul says: “Last year, due to the tense situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, my traders’ freight trucks were stranded and I suffered a loss of Rs110 million. I had already paid that amount.”
Because the wholesale trade relies on advance cash payments and credit extended to growers, the sudden border closure transformed millions of rupees in upfront investments into losses. Stranded under the open sky for weeks, tons of farm produce rotted in the containers and the payments were blocked.
“A trader is suffering a daily loss of 1 to 1.5 million rupees. Because of this, daily essentials have become expensive, while some items like lemons, chilies, and garlic have been rendered useless,” Rehman Gul said.
“It feels like a burden you carry every day. This is not just about losing money. It is emotional torture. For 10 to 11 months there has been no hope. When there is no hope left, a person breaks from the inside,” he said.
According to Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, senior vice president of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) and executive member of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce, Pakistan exports around $1.5 billion worth of goods to Afghanistan annually and the 10-month border closure has already deprived the traders of nearly $1 billion.
He said: “Afghanistan is the closest and most important market for Pakistani products, where full payment is made before shipment. That is as soon as an order is confirmed, Pakistani exporters receive advance payment.”
Annual exports of Pakistani products to Central Asian countries via Afghanistan are approximately worth $800 million. Due to the closure of transit trade, Pakistani exporters suffered a loss of approximately $225 million in the last 10 months.
Pakistan imports cotton, pulses and other items from Central Asian countries. These imports were possible at a relatively lower cost through Afghanistan, but the closure of transit trade has significantly increased import costs.
Sarhadi said: “Afghanistan’s annual exports to India through the Wagah border are approximately $300 million. Due to the transit closure over the past 10 months, Afghan exporters have had to bear a loss of almost $200 million.”
“The closure of Pak-Afghan trade has rendered millions of people unemployed directly and indirectly, while widespread unemployment has had negative effects on the law and order situation, as there is already unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and merged districts. The national treasury has been deprived of billions of rupees in revenue,” he added.
Karachi ports have remained a key hub for Afghan transit trade. Annually, approximately 40,000 to 45,000 containers transit through Pakistan for Afghanistan. An average of US$4,000 is spent per container on transport, insurance guarantee, terminal handling, port charges, clearing & forwarding, and other facilities.
Thus, Pakistan earns about US$160 million annually from Afghan transit trade.
He said: “Due to the closure, Pakistan has suffered a loss of approximately US$106 million. Pakistani ports are considered the shortest and lowest-cost trade route for Afghanistan. From October 2025 to April 2026, approximately 10,000 transit containers remained stuck in Pakistan, on which heavy demurrage and detention charges were imposed.”
An average penalty of US$120 per container per day was charged, as a result of which Afghan importers had to bear additional expenses of approximately US$1.2 million per day.
For Rehman Gul and thousands like him, the border is not just a line on a map. It is their livelihood. With billions in losses and millions unemployed, the business community’s appeal is clear: Pakistan and Afghanistan must put trade before politics, reopen Torkham and Chaman border crossings and restore the economic lifeline that sustains the region.
Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026
