The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the country’s transit trade with Afghanistan will remain suspended indefinitely as officials assess the security situation following deadly clashes along the shared frontier.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi told
reporters that all Afghan transit trade had been halted due to recent attacks
originating from the Afghan side of the border, which killed several
Pakistanis.
“Afghan transit trade is closed. It is not taking place
because of the factors you are aware of,” Andrabi said during his weekly
briefing. “Until the evaluation of the security situation, this transit trade
will remain closed. The lives of citizens are more important than any commodity
trade.”
He also reiterated Pakistan’s demand that Afghan territory
not be used to “foment or sponsor terrorism” in Pakistan.
The announcement comes as border crossings between the two
countries remain closed since October 11, after fierce clashes and Pakistani
airstrikes killed dozens on both sides — the worst fighting since the Taliban
took power in 2021.
A ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Türkiye last week is
currently holding, and a second round of talks is scheduled for October 25 in
Istanbul to review security and trade arrangements.
Andrabi also commented on reports that Taliban supreme
leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had ordered the construction of a hydroelectric
dam on the Kunar River. “We are ascertaining the details,” he said. “Generally,
transboundary rivers are governed by international law. In such matters,
Pakistan is both an upper and lower riparian, and we will follow this matter.”
The Chitral River, which originates in Pakistan, becomes the
Kunar River when it enters Afghanistan before rejoining Pakistan near
Jalalabad.
Trade officials said thousands of cargo vehicles remain
stranded at crossings, including Torkham and Chaman, where authorities have
opened the Friendship Gate only briefly for the repatriation of Afghan
refugees.
According to business leaders, no decision on reopening the
trade routes is expected before the Istanbul meeting. “Trade and business
activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be restored depending on the
outcome of the Istanbul review meeting,” businessman Imran Khan Kakar told Dawn.
Thousands of Pakistanis and Afghans remain stranded on both
sides of the border, as immigration services and cross-border business activity
remain suspended.
