Kabul, Jan 7 (IANS) Pakistan continues to face massive losses from the prolonged shutdown of border crossings with Afghanistan as trade between two nations remains halted, the local media in Kabul reported quoting an official of Afghanistan’s chamber of commerce.
Khan Jan Alokozay, a board member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), said Afghanistan previously used to conduct trade worth USD 200 million with Pakistan in a month, majority of them being imports from Islamabad, Afghan media outlet Amu TV reported. However, trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has stopped after closure of border crossings.
Speaking to Amu TV, Alokozay said, “After a month of closure, Afghanistan turned to alternative trade routes. Imports are continuing through other channels and there is no serious shortage of goods.”
He said the fresh fruit export season of Afghanistan has ended and the mineral exports were being exported through alternative routes, including through Central Asian countries. The prices of some goods have increased in markets of Afghanistan but products remained available in the market and the situation is manageable.
Border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained shut for nearly three months, halting bilateral trade between two nations. The border closures came after clashes erupted between Pakistani forces and the Taliban that lasted for eight days. The border crossings have not reopened despite several rounds of talks held between officials of Afghanistan and Pakistan, aimed at easing tensions.
On January 4, people held a protest in the Landi Kotal area of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to demand an immediate reopening of the Torkham border. Traders, transporters, tribal elders, daily wagers, activists of political parties and civil society were part of the protest held under the banner of All Borders Coordinators Council.
Representatives from various organisations and groups, who were directly impacted by the border shutdown with Afghanistan, participated in the protest, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported. While addressing the protesters, the speakers said that the border closure has caused economic murder of thousands of people, the majority of them being tribesmen, as they were fully reliant on the cross-border trade.
They called the Torkham border an important business gateway to Central Asia and said that the border crossing served as an economic hub for thousands of families, as their livelihoods were linked to it. According to them, all commercial activities have stopped in the town due to the border closure.
The speakers said that hundreds of families faced extreme poverty and economic problems due to border closure, with many of them forced to take loans for their survival. They urged Afghanistan and Pakistan not to relate bilateral trade to political and security issues and to allow people to travel frequently on both sides of the border.
“We also demand that influential tribal elders and trade representatives shall be made part of future Pak-Afghan peace and trade dialogue as they have always helped resolve thorny issues between the two countries in the past,” they said.
–IANS
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