Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Warns of Heavy Losses Due to Prolonged Closure of Trade Routes with Afghanistan
The President of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that the prolonged closure of trade routes and border gateways between Pakistan and Afghanistan has inflicted severe financial losses on traders and seriously disrupted bilateral and transit trade.
Junaid Altaf made these remarks during a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stating that over 12,000 containers related to Afghanistan-Pakistan trade and transit are currently stuck at the Karachi port, forcing traders to bear significantly high costs.
According to participants of the meeting, the closure of routes has especially harmed the export of perishable goods, increased unemployment, and created serious social and economic problems for communities near the Durand Line whose livelihoods depend on cross-border trade.
Traders also emphasized that the daily stoppage of containers results in millions of dollars lost, while billions of Pakistani rupees remain frozen in the form of bank guarantees and security deposits on the containers.
The meeting participants called for resolving this crisis through dialogue and urged authorities on both sides, including the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, to take immediate action to resume bilateral and transit trade to prevent further economic damage.
According to the information provided, trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan was halted about three months ago following violent clashes between the two sides, a situation whose repercussions continue to overshadow the lives of traders and residents of border areas.
