Representatives of Pakistan’s industrial sector have warned that the closure of the Torkham and Chaman crossings is causing severe commercial losses and putting pharmaceutical exports worth nearly 200 million US dollars at risk.
About two months ago, Pakistan unilaterally closed transit routes with Afghanistan along the Durand Line. Subsequently, on 12 November, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) suspended all trade with Pakistan.
On 13 November, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced that medicines imported from Pakistan would no longer be processed through customs after three months, following a directive from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
Pakistan’s industry representatives have warned that the ongoing closure of Torkham and Chaman is crippling pharmaceutical supplies to Afghanistan, spoiling temperature-sensitive drugs, and exposing Pakistan to massive commercial losses at a time when exporters cannot afford another shock, Dawn reported.
They noted that Afghanistan remains Pakistan’s largest overland trading partner and the main transit route for access to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
Each shutdown cuts Pakistan off from these landlocked economies, disrupts regional connectivity projects and undermines multilateral investments tied to the Pakistan–Uzbekistan–Afghanistan railway and other corridor initiatives.
“Almost all exports to Afghanistan have stopped, and containers carrying antibiotics, insulin, vaccines, cardiovascular drugs, and other essential medicines are stuck at crossings, dry ports, and warehouses. The delays have pushed local manufacturers toward irreversible financial losses. In one case, a single firm has products worth Rs850 million stranded at Torkham and Chaman, while more than fifty companies face similar setbacks,” said Tauqeer ul Haq of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).
kk/sa
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