Kabul, Feb 25 (IANS) Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan reduced sharply in the first seven months of the current fiscal amid trade disruptions and political tensions, local media reported on Wednesday.
According to the official data from the State Bank of Pakistan, exports to Afghanistan from Pakistan reduced by more than half compared to the same period last year. The value plunged from more than 550 million dollars to nearly 230 million dollars from July to January period, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.
Border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained shut since October last year, 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.
Taliban has urged traders and pharmaceutical importers to take up alternative trade routes and diversify supply sources to avert shortages in local markets, Khaama Press reported. Taliban officials stressed the need to reduce reliance on a single transit corridor and urged businesses to consider regional partnerships to continue stable supplies of essential goods.
Earlier in January, local media reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan witnessed a 53.02 per cent decline in revenue due to the continued closure and suspension of trade at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border since October last year, resulting in provincial government seeking intervention from the federal government, local media reported.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan border closure has caused revenue losses for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the collection of Infrastructure Development Cess (IDC) reduced to Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 3.48 billion from PKR 7.42 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year over the corresponding period of 2025, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s financial adviser, Muzammil Aslam, wrote a letter to Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal, requesting an urgent meeting of provincial and federal stakeholders. Aslam stated that prolonged border disruption was causing serious revenue, economic, and employment consequences for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He stated that initial disruption in cess collection was caused due to court stay order, which was resolved in November.
Recovery efforts were made, however, those efforts did not produce results as cross-border trade remained suspended. He said that exporters and traders were facing difficulty as their consignments and payments are stuck across the border and mentioned that many businesses were not able to meet their statutory cess obligations due to the trade suspension between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
–IANS
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