Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: Security concerns have once again overshadowed trade at the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border, where hundreds of trucks carrying Afghan produce remain stranded at the Torkham crossing amid escalating tensions between the two neighbors.&nbsp;The closure followed a series of cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan after, according to Pakistani military officials, Taliban fighters and affiliated militants attempted to infiltrate across the frontier. Relations between the two neighbors have since remained strained, with trade through key crossings suspended. A ceasefire between the two sides was finalized in Doha on October 19, with the next round of talks scheduled to take place in Istanbul.&nbsp;Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan interim government to take &ldquo;credible and effective action&rdquo; against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and similar groups launching attacks from across the border. But officials say those requests have gone unanswered, forcing Islamabad to prioritize national security over trade.&nbsp;Officials have stated that Pakistan&rsquo;s security concerns take precedence over trade, emphasizing that cross-border commerce can only resume once the frontier is secure and free from militant activity.&nbsp;Afghan exports rot as border stays shutFor weeks, hundreds of trucks laden with fresh Afghan produce, tomatoes, onions, grapes, and pomegranates, have been stranded at Torkham. With no access to Pakistani markets, the goods are spoiling in the heat, costing Afghan traders millions of dollars in losses.&nbsp;&ldquo;This has been happening for years, but this time it&rsquo;s worse,&rdquo; said Soleiman Safi, an Afghan fruit wholesaler based in Peshawar.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our fresh produce is rotting before it reaches the market. I&rsquo;m now thinking of switching to importing coal. It doesn&rsquo;t spoil.&rdquo;&nbsp;While Pakistan also faces trade losses, its diversified economy can absorb the shock. Afghanistan, however, remains critically dependent on cross-border commerce.&nbsp;Economic fallout hits Afghanistan hardAccording to the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan consumes about 6.8 million metric tons of wheat annually but produces only 4.8 million, importing the rest, mostly from Pakistan.&nbsp;Similarly, the country&rsquo;s sole sugar mill in Baghlan province, which restarted operations in early 2025 after decades of closure, can meet only a fraction of domestic demand. The majority of sugar imports also come from Pakistan.&nbsp;Without this trade, Afghan consumers face rising food prices and shortages of essentials such as wheat flour, rice, cooking oil, and processed foods.&nbsp;Business leaders call for swift resolutionJunaid Altaf, president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the closure is causing severe financial losses.&nbsp;&ldquo;We estimate losses of nearly one billion rupees a day from the Torkham crossing alone,&rdquo; he told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;We have urged our counterparts in Afghanistan to press their government to normalize the situation so trade can resume.&rdquo;&nbsp;Limited alternatives, lingering challengesKabul has explored alternate trade routes through Iran&rsquo;s Chabahar Port and via Central Asia, but traders say these are costly and impractical substitutes for the shorter, better-developed Pakistani corridor.&nbsp;&ldquo;For time-sensitive exports like fruits and vegetables, there is no alternative to Pakistan&rsquo;s route,&rdquo; an Afghan logistics operator said.&nbsp;Officials in Pakistan Customs confirmed that &ldquo;all preparations for reopening have been completed,&rdquo; and staff are &ldquo;on standby,&rdquo; but added that the final decision depends on security clearance from higher authorities.&nbsp;As Afghanistan&rsquo;s economy continues to reel, Islamabad maintains that the solution lies not in seeking alternative trade routes but in tackling the security threats that have strained cross-border ties.&nbsp;&ldquo;A stable, terrorism-free border is the only prerequisite for trade to resume in full,&rdquo; a senior Pakistani official reiterated.

Economy

Trade between Islamabad and Kabul remains suspended as security concerns persist following cross-border clashes. Islamabad prioritizes border safety over commerce, saying trade will resume only once militant threats are contained, leaving Afghan traders facing mounting economic losses.

Trade stalls as security concerns keep Pakistan–Afghanistan border shut

Mariam Ellahi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces killed more than 70 militants linked to the proscribed Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction during overnight precision strikes in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan, security sources said on Saturday.&nbsp;The strikes, carried out late on Friday, targeted what sources described as &ldquo;verified militant hideouts&rdquo; across the border. &ldquo;Over 70 terrorists belonging to the Khwaraji Gul Bahadur group, including several key commanders, were eliminated.&rdquo;&nbsp;Those killed included &ldquo;11 key ringleaders,&rdquo; among them commanders identified as Firman alias Al-Karama, Siddiqullah Dawar, Ghazi Madakhel, Muqarib, Qismatullah, Gulab alias Diwana, Rahmani, Adil, and Fazlur Rehman, the latter described by officials as a close relative of Hafiz Gul Bahadur.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a major operational success that has significantly degraded the group&rsquo;s command and control structure,&rdquo; the sources said.&nbsp;The Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction, active in Pakistan&rsquo;s northwestern border regions, has been blamed for several deadly attacks in recent months, including a vehicle-borne suicide attack in North Waziristan that killed one soldier and several civilians, and an assault in Bannu Cantonment that left eight soldiers martyred.&nbsp;Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the operations in a statement posted on social media earlier in the day, saying Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces had &ldquo;neutralized more than 100 terrorists&rdquo; in retaliatory actions along the Pak-Afghan border over the past 48 hours.&nbsp;&ldquo;The precision strikes targeted verified camps of the Gul Bahadur group, known locally as &lsquo;Kharjis,&rsquo;&rdquo; Tarar said. &ldquo;More than 100 Kharjis were sent to hell.&rdquo;&nbsp;He dismissed online claims that civilians were targeted as &ldquo;false propaganda aimed at garnering sympathy for terrorist groups.&rdquo;&nbsp;Tarar added that Pakistan &ldquo;reserves the right to act in self-defense&rdquo; but &ldquo;continues to seek diplomatic engagement with Afghan authorities&rdquo; to curb cross-border terrorism.&nbsp;Security analysts note that Gul Bahadur recently announced the formation of Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), an umbrella alliance that includes Lashkar-e-Islam and Harkat-e-Inqilab-e-Islami Pakistan, seen as one of the most potent new militant networks in the region.&nbsp;Sources say the latest strikes have dealt &ldquo;a serious blow&rdquo; to the IMP&rsquo;s ability to conduct cross-border infiltration and vehicle-borne attacks, but caution that splinter groups often re-emerge under new leadership.&nbsp;The strikes come amid growing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over the presence of militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and a surge in cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani troops and civilians.

Security

Pakistan’s latest cross-border strikes reflect escalating tensions with Afghanistan over militant sanctuaries, as Islamabad attributes recent deadly attacks in its northwestern border region to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group and affiliated militant networks.

Articles tagged with "Hafiz Gul Bahadur"

Trade stalls as security concerns keep Pakistan–Afghanistan border shut

Over 70 militants killed in Afghan border strikes: security sources