Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade Falls 74% to $358 Million Amid Border Closures

October 19, 2026 Current News Articles

October 19, 2026

Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Trade Drops 93% — *Photo/Torkham border crossing/Trucks parked at the Torkham border terminal.*

Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan fell by 74 per cent to $358 million in the 2025-26 financial year, as prolonged border closures and rising tensions disrupted cross-border commerce, according to official Pakistani trade data reported by Dawn.

Bilateral trade dropped from $1.3 billion in 2024-25 to $358 million in 2025-26, according to figures released by Pakistan’s Trade Development Authority. The decline has affected manufacturers, transport companies, agricultural traders and communities dependent on cross-border commerce.

The Torkham crossing was closed on October 12, 2025, following deadly clashes between the two countries. Other crossings, including Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan and Angoor Adda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Chaman in Balochistan, have also remained closed to commercial traffic, according to the report.

Afghanistan transit trade through Pakistan has also plunged. The number of transit containers fell from nearly 89,000, valued at about $5 billion before the Taliban returned to power, to 11,592 containers worth $367 million in the 2025-26 financial year. However, the decline began before the latest border closures, as Afghanistan increasingly sought alternative trade routes, particularly through Iran.

Pakistan exports pharmaceutical products, cement, plastics, rice, fruits and vegetables to Afghanistan. Its imports from Afghanistan include onions, tomatoes, agricultural seeds, grapes, dried apricots, apples, coal and unwrought lead.

The disruption has hit Pakistan’s transport and pharmaceutical industries particularly hard. Junaid Altaf, a former president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses and workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were facing growing economic difficulties. He also highlighted the province’s higher logistics costs because of its distance from major seaports and international shipping routes.

Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry has lost access to a significant export market. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures cited by Dawn, the country exported about $130 million worth of pharmaceutical products to Afghanistan in 2023-24. The loss of that market could affect production, investment and employment in the sector.

Agricultural traders have also reported substantial losses. Malik Sohni, president of the All Pakistan Agricultural Produce Traders Federation, said up to 50 trucks carrying potatoes and 25 trucks carrying fresh vegetables used to travel from Pakistan to Afghanistan daily before the disruption.

Sohni said he had suffered losses of 180 million Pakistani rupees after hostilities disrupted trade and potato prices fell. He added that potato cultivation had declined by almost half, warning that reduced supply could push prices higher.

The transport sector has also come under pressure. 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 economically unviable to redirect them to other parts of Pakistan. The disruption has also affected Pakistani exports destined for Central Asian markets.

Pakistani business leaders, however, differ over the economic consequences and the priority that should be given to reopening trade. Fuad Ishaq, a Peshawar-based businessman and former chamber president, argued that security concerns should take precedence and that Pakistani exporters could seek alternative markets. Other business representatives have called for a sustainable approach that protects security while allowing regulated trade to resume.

The trade decline comes amid deteriorating relations between Islamabad and Taliban authorities over security. Pakistan has demanded concrete, verifiable action against armed groups it says operate from Afghanistan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Taliban authorities have rejected allegations that Afghanistan’s territory is being used to launch attacks against neighbouring countries.

OIC Pledges Continued Dialogue on Afghan Women’s Rights

October 19, 2026 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

18 October 2006

Afghanistan’s economic crisis raises concerns over EU deportations

October 19, 2026 Current News Articles

Ariana News

October 19, 2026

European governments are stepping up engagement with Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate (IEA) authorities over the deportation of migrants, economic assistance and diplomatic representation, despite continuing to withhold formal recognition of the administration, France 24 reports.

The report draws on an investigation by Elian Peltier, The New York Times’ Pakistan and Afghanistan bureau chief, who says European officials are meeting IEA representatives more frequently than is widely known.

The growing contacts highlight the tension between Europe’s official policy of non-recognition and its practical efforts to address migration and other issues involving Afghanistan.

However, the prospect of returning Afghan migrants has raised concerns among United Nations experts and human rights organisations, which have warned about the risks of deportation under IEA rule, particularly given restrictions on fundamental rights.

Afghanistan’s persistent economic crisis adds to these concerns, with limited employment opportunities, widespread hardship and difficulties accessing basic necessities potentially leaving returnees struggling to rebuild their lives.

The developments underscore the challenge facing European governments as they seek to manage migration while weighing humanitarian concerns and the conditions awaiting deportees in Afghanistan.

Pakistani forces, Afghan Taliban exchange fire after militants attempt to infiltrate Pakistan

October 18, 2026 Current News Articles

By MUNIR AHMED

Associated Press

October 17, 2026

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani forces and Afghan Taliban personnel exchanged fire at several locations along Pakistan’s northwestern border Saturday, with Pakistani security officials and state-run media saying troops backed by artillery destroyed Taliban posts.

The officials also said Pakistani troops killed an unspecified number of Pakistani Taliban militants trying to cross into Pakistan from a remote area of eastern Afghanistan during the clashes.

The fighting lasted for hours along the border in Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to three Pakistani security officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated under repeated border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan this year, deepening a longstanding dispute over militant activity.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in September that it had documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries from cross-border violence in Afghanistan this year.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, with much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, who are formerly known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, which is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan says many TTP leaders and insurgents have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power there in 2021, an allegation Kabul denies.

Pakistani authorities say more than 2,800 militant attacks since January have killed 3,000 people across Pakistan, mainly in the northwest and the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade Shutdown Drives Up Costs, Cuts Jobs and Disrupts Exports

October 18, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

October 18, 2026

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.

UN Envoy Rabab Fatima Arrives in Kabul to Lead Afghanistan Mission

October 18, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

October 18, 2026

Rabab Fatima, the United Nations’ newly appointed Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), has arrived in Kabul and formally assumed her duties, the United Nations said.

In a statement published on Sunday, the UN confirmed that Fatima began her role on October 16, taking over leadership of the mission as Afghanistan continues to face political, humanitarian and human rights challenges under Taliban rule.

Fatima brings more than 30 years of experience in national and international public service, including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, policymaking, advocacy, and the planning and implementation of programmes. Before her appointment, she served as UN under-secretary-general and high representative for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states.

The Bangladeshi diplomat previously served as her country’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in New York from 2019 to 2022. During that period, she led the executive boards of UNICEF and UN Women and became the first woman elected chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. She has also served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Japan and held senior positions at the country’s foreign ministry and diplomatic missions.

Guterres announced Fatima’s appointment on July 15, succeeding Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan. The secretary-general also acknowledged the service of Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s deputy special representative, who had been overseeing the mission during the leadership transition.

UNAMA plays a central role in the United Nations’ political engagement with Afghanistan, supporting dialogue, coordinating humanitarian efforts and monitoring the country’s human rights situation. Its work comes amid continuing international concerns over restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls, humanitarian needs and the Taliban authorities’ relationship with the international community

Clashes Erupt Between Taliban and Pakistan in Paktia’s Dand Patan District

October 17, 2026 Current News Articles

Mohammad Farhaad

Hasht e Subh daily

17 October 2026

Map of Paktia Province highlighted in red inside the map of Afghanistan. (Photo Credit: 8am.media)

Local sources say clashes have erupted between the Taliban and Pakistani forces in the Dand Patan district of Paktia province, with Pakistan firing artillery shells toward the area.

China Urges Kabul to Crack Down on Terrorist Groups in Afghanistan

October 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

October 17, 2026

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Taliban authorities to take concrete measures against terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, warning that the country’s stability is closely linked to security across Asia.

Wang made the remarks on Thursday, October 15, at the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku, Azerbaijan. He attended the meeting as a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Wang described Afghanistan as an important part of Asia’s security architecture and called on Taliban authorities to work toward lasting peace and stability. He also urged regional countries to coordinate more closely on Afghanistan and continue supporting its economic development and humanitarian needs.

The remarks reflect Beijing’s longstanding security concerns over militant groups based in Afghanistan and the potential threat they could pose to neighboring countries. China has repeatedly pressed Taliban authorities to take effective action against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which Beijing considers a threat to its national security.

Taliban officials have repeatedly said they will not allow Afghanistan territory to be used to threaten other countries. They also maintain that their forces are fighting Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) and other armed groups. However, regional governments continue to raise concerns about cross-border militancy and the wider security implications of developments in Afghanistan.

Wang’s comments came as regional governments continued discussions on terrorism, security cooperation and development at the CICA summit. Participants adopted the Baku Declaration and called for stronger multilateral cooperation and confidence-building measures across Asia.

Afghanistan’s absence from the summit also highlighted the country’s unresolved diplomatic status. Afghanistan remains a CICA member, but the organisation’s seventh summit opened without a Taliban representative, despite the group’s efforts to increase its participation in the forum.

NRC Warns One-Third of Afghans Could Face Hunger This Winter

October 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

October 17, 2026

Nearly 19.2 million people in Afghanistan are projected to face acute food insecurity during the coming winter, as unemployment, high prices, reduced humanitarian assistance and pressure from returning migrants deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis, according to a new assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

The assessment estimates that 15.9 million people, or 32 percent of the population, are already experiencing crisis-level hunger or worse. The number is projected to rise to 19.2 million, around 38 percent of the population analysed, between November 2026 and April 2027. About five million people could face emergency levels of food insecurity requiring urgent assistance.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has warned that the situation could deteriorate further as winter reduces employment opportunities and limits agricultural activity. High food and transport costs, weak purchasing power and declining humanitarian funding are leaving many families struggling to afford basic necessities.

The crisis is also affecting children and women. The IPC projects that approximately 4.04 million children aged six to 59 months will require treatment for acute malnutrition in 2027. More than one million pregnant and breastfeeding women are also expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition.

Large-scale returns from Iran and Pakistan, trade disruptions and pressure on already limited jobs and services have added to the strain on vulnerable households. Many returnees have limited access to land, stable employment and reliable sources of income, increasing their risk of hunger.

The NRC has called for humanitarian assistance to be increased before winter conditions worsen. Aid agencies have also warned that declining funding is weakening their ability to provide food assistance and nutrition services to families most at risk.

Russian FM Says Security Threats in Afghanistan Persist

October 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

October 17, 2026

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Friday that security threats linked to Afghanistan remain a concern for Central Asia, saying militant groups could undermine stability in the region and pose risks to neighbouring countries.

Speaking at a security conference in Moscow involving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Lavrov said Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was seeking to undermine the Taliban authorities’ ability to maintain stability and expand militant activity into Central Asia and Russia.

Lavrov said Russia would continue providing economic and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan population. He also emphasized Moscow’s support for efforts to strengthen security along the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, including assistance through the CSTO.

The Russian foreign minister’s remarks come amid continuing regional concerns about militant activity near Afghanistan’s northern borders. Tajikistan has reported security incidents in border areas, including attacks that killed or wounded Chinese nationals and workers involved in construction and mining projects. Tajik authorities have linked some of the incidents to armed groups operating from Afghanistan.

Lavrov’s comments reflect Moscow’s continued focus on the security consequences of the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Russia has repeatedly raised concerns about militant groups operating in Afghanistan, while Taliban officials have rejected allegations that Afghanistan territory is being used to threaten other countries. In February, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said no country had faced threats from Afghanistan soil during the group’s rule.

The Moscow conference brought regional security concerns, including terrorism, border protection and cross-border militant activity into focus as Russia and its partners seek to coordinate responses to threats they associate with developments in Afghanistan.

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