Pakistan’s prolonged closure of border crossings with Afghanistan has caused an estimated $2.5 billion in trade losses, with exporters, importers, transport operators and small businesses among the sectors facing significant disruption. President of the Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Yousaf Afridi, said the Torkham border closure had entered its 327th day, creating serious economic difficulties for businesses and workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to figures cited by Afridi, the overall losses include around $1.644 billion in exports and $817 million in imports, highlighting the scale of the disruption to cross-border commercial activity.
Addressing a press conference at the Landi Kotal Press Club, Yousaf Afridi said the continued closure of all border crossings with Afghanistan had affected millions of people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said thousands of workers associated with small industries had been pushed into unemployment and financial hardship as commercial activity remained disrupted. The prolonged shutdown has also affected businesses that depend on movement through the border, including transport operators, hotels, markets and other enterprises linked directly or indirectly to cross-border trade.
Afridi said a meeting had earlier been held in Islamabad with the Interior Minister, with representatives of the Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry also participating. According to him, the Interior Minister had assured the participants that the border issue would be discussed in detail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, Afridi said the proposed meeting had not yet been convened, leaving traders and businesses without a clear resolution to the continuing disruption. He stressed that traders had repeatedly raised the matter through available forums but had not received an effective response.
The economic impact has also extended to provincial government revenues, with traders estimating that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has lost Rs7.27 billion in cess tax revenue because of the border closure. Afridi said transit trade had also suffered considerable losses as commercial movement remained restricted. The decline in border-related business has affected a wider network of economic activity, as transport businesses, hotels, markets and small industries connected to trade have faced reduced activity during the prolonged closure.
The KCCI president called for the Torkham border issue to be handled separately from political matters, arguing that commercial activity should not be affected by political considerations. He said traders needed the border to remain available for legitimate trade and commercial movement, particularly given the number of livelihoods dependent on cross-border activity. The continuing closure, according to the figures presented by the chamber, has created losses not only for individual traders but also for exporters, importers, transport operators and the provincial revenue base.
Afridi also raised issues concerning the Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry itself during the press conference. He demanded an audit of the chamber covering the past five years and called for its main office in Khyber to be made operational. He further alleged that certain non-local individuals were interfering in the chamber’s affairs and called for such interference to end. His demands came alongside the broader call for authorities to address the economic consequences of the prolonged border closure.
The estimated $2.5 billion loss cited by the KCCI president underscores the financial pressure created by the prolonged suspension of cross-border commercial activity. With $1.644 billion attributed to export losses and $817 million to import losses, the disruption has affected both sides of Pakistan’s merchandise trade with Afghanistan. At the provincial level, the reported Rs7.27 billion decline in cess tax revenue adds another financial consequence, while businesses and workers in transport, hospitality, markets and small industries continue to face the effects of reduced activity.
Follow the PakBanker Whatsapp Channel for updates across Pakistan’s banking ecosystem.