Officials in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have warned the federal government that the continued suspension of border trade with Afghanistan is causing significant economic losses.
They said it also cuts government revenues and costs jobs, and have urged that cross-border trade be resumed.
In a letter to Pakistan’s Commerce Minister, Mazammil Aslam, financial adviser to the provincial government, said cross-border trade had been severely disrupted and had effectively come to a standstill.
He said the provincial authorities had been informed that revenue from infrastructure development levies directly tied to border trade had fallen by 80 percent.
Aslam also attached a letter from the province’s revenue department highlighting broader fiscal challenges and called for a meeting to address the problems facing exporters and traders.
Pakistan’s border crossings with Afghanistan were closed to trade and transit following clashes along the frontier and Pakistani airstrikes in late 2025.
Despite talks hosted by Qatar and Turkiye aimed at reaching a ceasefire, trade has not resumed. Negotiations have stalled amid ongoing accusations between Taliban authorities and Pakistani officials.
Islamabad has urged the Taliban to act against militants who it says use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban deny the allegation.
Residents of border areas, particularly on the Pakistani side, have previously protested the prolonged closure, saying livelihoods on both sides of the frontier depend on cross-border movement and trade.
