Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Afghan and Pakistani traders say nearly a year of closed border crossings has caused heavy economic losses, disrupted exports and left thousands of workers without jobs, while forcing businesses to use alternative routes that can raise shipping costs fivefold.
Khan Jan Alokozay, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, stated that transporting a container from Karachi to Afghanistan, which previously cost about $2,000 and took around 10 days, now costs as much as $10,000 through alternative routes, with delivery taking up to two months.
The disruption has particularly affected Afghanistan’s exports of fresh and dried fruit. Alokozay said some products are now shipped to India by air, while smaller quantities move through Iran and Central Asia. However, higher transport costs have reduced exporters’ profits and made it harder for farmers to reach foreign markets. International reporting has also documented spoiled Afghan produce, rising freight costs and the growing use of alternative trade corridors.
Pakistani businesses have also been hit by the shutdown. Shahid Hussain, a former head of the joint chamber in Peshawar, said border communities had suffered extensive job losses, affecting daily-wage workers, truck drivers, transport companies and customs agents. Traders say the suspension has also hurt Pakistani exports of cement, medicines, flour, rice and other goods to Afghanistan.
The scale of the disruption is reflected in transit-trade figures. Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that only 11,592 containers carrying Afghan transit goods, valued at about $367 million, passed through the route in the 2025-26 financial year, compared with much higher volumes in previous years. The data also points to a sharp decline in Afghanistan exports routed through Pakistan to third-country markets.
Afghanistan has increasingly redirected imports through Iran and Central Asia, but traders say these alternatives are more expensive and take longer.
Alokozay and Hussain said they had raised traders’ concerns with officials in both countries but saw little indication that the crossings would reopen soon. They warned that continued restrictions would deepen losses for farmers, exporters, transport businesses and workers whose livelihoods depend on cross-border commerce.
The main trade crossings were closed in October 2025 following escalating clashes and tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. The shutdown has disrupted a longstanding commercial corridor that connected Afghan businesses to Karachi’s seaports and provided Pakistani exporters with access to Afghanistan market.