Nearly a weeklong closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing disrupts trade, movement of people
The crossing has remained closed since February 21st after Pakistan shut it down over a dispute concerning Afghanistan's construction of a border post. Since then, more than 5,000 trucks and vehicles carrying goods, including fruits and vegetables, have been stranded on both sides awaiting the reopening of the trade route, according to Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Torkham also serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods between Pakistan and Central Asian countries, and Sarhadi urged both countries to resolve their dispute so that bilateral trade and movement of people could resume.
At Torkham, truck driver Najeeb Ullah said that he was forced to sleep in his vehicle because he can't leave it unguarded on the road. 'We request Pakistan and Afghanistan to have mercy on us, as we are suffering without any reason,' he told reporters. Another driver, Mustafa Khan, said that he was hoping to return to his northwestern city of Peshawar after delivering a supply of cement in Afghan city Jalalabad, 'but I am stuck here since Friday, and I have no idea for how many days we will have to face this trouble.' Farhad Nusrat, an Afghan citizen, said that he was returning home with his mother and children, and the closure of the border crossing has forced them to spend their days and nights in the open area. He appealed to Pakistani authorities to reopen the border.
Authorities said that hundreds of Pakistanis were also stranded on the other side of the border. There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. However, Abdul Jabbar Hikmat, the commissioner on the Afghan side of the border, confirmed the closure by Pakistan. 'Whenever Pakistani authorities conduct construction on their side, we say nothing. But whenever we do something, they close the border,' Hikmat said.
Border closures at Torkham are common because of disputes over new posts along the porous Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized. Pakistan, meanwhile, has nearly completed a border fence to strengthen control.
The Torkham crossing is located on the edge of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban terrorists frequently target security forces. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in 2021. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the TTP, and increasing attacks by TTP on security forces in Pakistan has strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Dubai hosts world's largest Pakistan Independence Day gathering, embassy says
ISLAMABAD: About 60,000 people attended Pakistan's Independence Day celebration at the Dubai Expo City, making it the largest such gathering in the world, the embassy of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates said on Thursday. Expressing gratitude to the UAE government, envoy Faisal Niaz Tirmizi acknowledged their support in making this year's Pakistan Independence Day celebrations 'unprecedented in scale.' 'The event, held on 10 August in Dubai Expo City attended by around 60,000 people, was the largest Pakistan Independence Day gathering held anywhere in the world,' the embassy said in a statement. Tirmizi also underscored the contributions of the Pakistani community in the UAE, underscoring their importance to Pakistan's economy at a time of fiscal reform and external account pressures. 'The Pakistani diaspora has played a vital role in the development of the UAE and has been a backbone of our economy through their remittances,' Tirmizi said, urging expatriates to continue their constructive role in the country's progress. As part of the celebrations, the embassy announced the launch of an online tracking system for passports and National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), aimed at improving consular services. Tirmizi also pointed to improvements in education, saying two community schools had achieved a 'Good' ranking for the first time in 20 years, and that more Pakistani private schools had been approached to expand branches in the Emirates.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Two LUMS professors become first Pakistanis to join MIT's J-PAL network
ISLAMABAD: Two faculty members from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) have become the first Pakistani academics invited to join the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LUMS said in a statement. Dr. Ali Cheema, the vice chancellor, is a professor of economics and politics at LUMS and co-founder of the university's Mahbub ul Haq Research Center, with research spanning political economy, development and governance. Dr. Farah Said is an associate professor of economics whose work focuses on gender, labor markets, and poverty, and she has led several randomized control trials on empowerment and development interventions. 'LUMS is delighted to announce that faculty members Dr. Farah Said and Dr. Ali Cheema have been invited to join the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT as Affiliated Professors — the first two faculty members from any Pakistani university to receive this honor,' the statement said. J-PAL, co-founded by Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, is one of the world's foremost institutions promoting evidence-based policymaking to reduce poverty. Its Affiliated Professors include leading economists from top global universities, among them five Nobel laureates. The selection of Dr. Said and Dr. Cheema recognizes their 'impactful work in economics and political economy, which has been published in top journals such as the Journal of Political Economy, American Political Science Review, Science, Economic Journal, and American Economic Journal: Applied Economics,' LUMS said. 'This milestone marks a significant achievement for LUMS, Pakistan's economic community, and the nation, as we contribute to shaping global economic research.' When asked to comment, Drs. Said and Cheema said their research owed much to their co-authors, colleagues, and students. 'This is an exciting time to be part of the Pakistani economist community, with a growing number of Pakistani-origin academics shaping global research on issues that are critical for the country,' the professors said. 'We are also seeing the emergence of exceptional young Pakistani scholars who are asking deep questions about why economies, polities, and societies are not delivering for their people.'
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Moody's upgrade underscores Pakistan recovery, reforms fueling stability — central bank governor
KARACHI: Pakistan's central bank said on Thursday recent credit rating upgrades underscored the country's improving macroeconomic outlook, as Governor Jameel Ahmad used an Independence Day address to stress economic resilience and reforms. The remarks came a day after Moody's Investors Service upgraded Pakistan's sovereign rating, citing stronger foreign exchange reserves, a current account surplus and fiscal consolidation. Analysts said the move could ease access to global capital markets and attract investment as Pakistan looks to consolidate gains under its $7 billion IMF program approved in September 2024. 'International credit rating agencies have upgraded Pakistan's ratings in recognition of recent measures which will help unlock foreign investment opportunities,' Ahmad said at the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) flag-hoisting ceremony in Karachi. Ahmad noted the dramatic improvement in inflation, which had soared to 38 percent in May 2023 before easing to 11.8 percent by May 2024 and reaching a record low of 3.2 percent in June 2025. 'Our monetary policy remains geared toward maintaining the hard-earned gains in price stability, while ensuring inflation remains within 5–7 percent,' he said, adding that this would help 'unlock broader economic and business opportunities.' The SBP has reduced its policy rate in seven steps from 22 percent to 11 percent since June 2024 in line with the improved outlook. External accounts have also strengthened, with reserves nearly tripling to $14.5 billion by the end of FY25 from $4.4 billion two years earlier. Ahmad said the turnaround was achieved through a $2.1 billion current account surplus – the first in 14 years – and record remittances of $38.3 billion from overseas Pakistanis, without adding to external debt. The governor also highlighted SBP's digital push, including spinning off the Raast instant payment system into a separate subsidiary, easing account opening procedures and modernizing payment infrastructure to widen financial inclusion. He said such steps would particularly benefit women and small businesses. Pakistan's economic rebound follows two years of crisis, when the country averted default through IMF disbursements, painful reforms, and strict fiscal consolidation. The IMF has urged Pakistan to maintain exchange rate flexibility, broaden its tax base and strengthen the energy sector to lock in recent stability.
