Latest news with #ZiaulHaqSarhadi
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trade resumes as Pakistan and Afghanistan reopen key Torkham border crossing after nearly a month
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Trade between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan resumed on Wednesday at a key border post following a dispute that turned into exchanges of gunfire, officials and local elders said. The northwestern Torkham border crossing — just one of two main trade routes between the neighbors — had been shut for nearly a month because of the dispute over Afghanistan's construction of a border post. The Torkham crossing is in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban militants frequently target security forces. It has been closed a number of times in recent years, mainly following clashes between security forces for reasons including Pakistan's repairs of the border fence. Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the resumption of bilateral trade. He said he hoped the movement of people would resume this week. Ghulam Ali, another Pakistani businessman, said the closure of the Torkham border had caused losses of millions of dollars for importers and exporters as some items perished. He thanked local tribal elders for facilitating the reopening.
Associated Press
19-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trade resumes as Pakistan and Afghanistan reopen key Torkham border crossing after nearly a month
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Trade between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan resumed on Wednesday at a key border post following a dispute that turned into exchanges of gunfire, officials and local elders said. The northwestern Torkham border crossing — just one of two main trade routes between the neighbors — had been shut for nearly a month because of the dispute over Afghanistan's construction of a border post. The Torkham crossing is in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban militants frequently target security forces. It has been closed a number of times in recent years, mainly following clashes between security forces for reasons including Pakistan's repairs of the border fence. Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the resumption of bilateral trade. He said he hoped the movement of people would resume this week. Ghulam Ali, another Pakistani businessman, said the closure of the Torkham border had caused losses of millions of dollars for importers and exporters as some items perished. He thanked local tribal elders for facilitating the reopening.
Gulf Today
04-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Pakistani, Afghan security forces clash at closed main border crossing
Pakistani and Afghan security forces clashed on Monday at the recently shuttered main border crossing between the two countries, killing at least one combatant and injuring several, officials said. The conflict erupted on the first working day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, when food imports from Pakistan usually peak in Afghanistan, which is facing a humanitarian and hunger crisis. A 10-day-old closure of the Torkham border point has stranded thousands of trucks filled with essential goods. The Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday the latest firing took place overnight and that one Taliban fighter had been killed and two injured. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that members of the Pakistani security forces had been wounded. Pakistan's foreign office did not respond to a request for comment. The neighbouring countries have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several Islamist militant attacks that have occurred there have been launched from Afghan soil - a charge the Taliban deny. Pakistani military aircraft carried out strikes that killed dozens on Afghan territory in December. Abdul Mateen Qaniee, the Afghan interior ministry spokesperson, said that this week's clashes had been resolved but did not comment on whether the border crossing would now reopen. It has been shut since February 21. The latest closure, which chamber of commerce officials said was sparked by a dispute over the construction of a border-area outpost, has left 5,000 trucks stranded and traders alarmed at rising losses. "This is a very serious issue and is badly affecting trade between the two countries," said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce. The Torkham crossing is the main transit artery for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Trade between the two countries was worth over $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Pakistan's foreign office. Yousaf Afridi, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries for Pakistan's Khyber district where the Torkham crossing is located, said the closure had caused at least $15 million in losses. It could exacerbate the challenges confronting the Afghan economy, which has teetered near crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021, leading to a cut in development aid and sanctions affecting the banking sector that has hampered businesses. Millions of Afghans are at risk of hunger and around half the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the United Nations.
Reuters
03-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Pakistani, Afghan security forces clash at closed main border crossing
KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 3 (Reuters) - Pakistani and Afghan security forces clashed on Monday at the recently shuttered main border crossing between the two countries, killing at least one combatant and injuring several, officials said. The conflict erupted on the first working day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, when food imports from Pakistan usually peak in Afghanistan, which is facing a humanitarian and hunger crisis. A 10-day-old closure of the Torkham border point has stranded thousands of trucks filled with essential goods. The Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday the latest firing took place overnight and that one Taliban fighter had been killed and two injured. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that members of the Pakistani security forces had been wounded. Pakistan's foreign office did not respond to a request for comment. The neighbouring countries have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several Islamist militant attacks that have occurred there have been launched from Afghan soil - a charge the Taliban deny. Pakistani military aircraft carried out strikes that killed dozens on Afghan territory in December. Abdul Mateen Qaniee, the Afghan interior ministry spokesperson, said that this week's clashes had been resolved but did not comment on whether the border crossing would now reopen. It has been shut since February 21. The latest closure, which chamber of commerce officials said was sparked by a dispute over the construction of a border-area outpost, has left 5,000 trucks stranded and traders alarmed at rising losses. "This is a very serious issue and is badly affecting trade between the two countries," said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce. The Torkham crossing is the main transit artery for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Trade between the two countries was worth over $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Pakistan's foreign office. Yousaf Afridi, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries for Pakistan's Khyber district where the Torkham crossing is located, said the closure had caused at least $15 million in losses. It could exacerbate the challenges confronting the Afghan economy, which has teetered near crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021, leading to a cut in development aid and sanctions affecting the banking sector that has hampered businesses. Millions of Afghans are at risk of hunger and around half the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the United Nations.
Al Arabiya
27-02-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Nearly a weeklong closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing disrupts trade, movement of people
A nearly weeklong closure of the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan has disrupted bilateral trade and the movement of people, causing financial losses to traders and leaving people stranded in harsh winter conditions, officials said Thursday. 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.
