Afghanistan Urges Traders To Cut Ties With Pakistan By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line Afghanistan has instructed its industrialists and traders to explore alternative trade routes through countries other than Pakistan. Addressing Afghan industrialists and traders on Wednesday, Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar said, “Relations have deteriorated to a point where reconciliation has become […]
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The Media Line: Afghanistan Urges Traders To Cut Ties With Pakistan
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Afghanistan Urges Traders To Cut Ties With Pakistan
By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line
Afghanistan has instructed its industrialists and traders to explore alternative trade routes through countries other than Pakistan.
Addressing Afghan industrialists and traders on Wednesday, Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar said, “Relations have deteriorated to a point where reconciliation has become difficult, so Afghan traders should look for trade routes through other countries instead of Pakistan.”
He warned that “if any trader fails to comply, the Afghan government will not be able to provide them with any assistance.”
Baradar urged Afghan businesses to reduce trade with Pakistan as much as possible, particularly in transport and transit.
He added that imports currently sourced from Pakistan should be shifted to other available markets, which he claimed are now widely accessible.
According to Baradar, a major portion of Afghanistan’s current trade with Pakistan consists of pharmaceutical imports. Afghan traders importing medicines from Pakistan have been given a three-month deadline to settle their financial transactions.
He further stated that no country can fulfill all its needs independently; therefore, nations must rely on one another.
Baradar also accused Pakistan of repeatedly exploiting trade ties by arbitrarily shutting border crossings, harming Afghanistan’s economy, and turning nonpolitical matters into instruments of political pressure.
“For the sake of our nation’s dignity, the protection of trade and industry, and the rights of Afghans,” Baradar said, “we have urged our business community to recognize that Pakistan has continually disrupted our trade routes and politicized issues that have nothing to do with politics.”
Pakistan has traditionally been Afghanistan’s largest trading partner, supplying more than 40 percent of its pharmaceutical imports along with a substantial share of consumer goods, construction materials, and essential food items.
Najeeb Afridi, a Peshawar-based member of the Chamber of Commerce, told The Media Line, “Afghanistan is hit hardest, as it lacks viable alternatives. Iran faces global sanctions, and Central Asian routes are distant and expensive, driving up costs and risking shortages.”
He emphasized, “Trade with Pakistan is cheaper, faster, and more reliable — a truck leaving Lahore in the morning reaches Jalalabad by evening,” noting that routes through other countries are slower and more expensive.
However, relations have sharply deteriorated in recent months amid rising tensions over the alleged presence of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters inside Afghanistan — a claim the Taliban strongly denies.
Ayaz Gul, an Islamabad-based analyst who closely follows Pakistan-Afghanistan affairs, believes that while Baradar’s call to reduce dependence on Pakistan for trade has drawn attention, Afghanistan’s war-torn and fragile economy cannot afford such a move.
Highlighting the trade dynamics between the two countries, Gul posted on X that “no other neighboring country can provide Afghanistan with the same level of access to domestic and international markets.”