Pakistan's Afghan trade falls as Chabahar and Central Asia routes rise

Pakistan losing edge in Afghan trade as reliability trumps geography: Report

New Delhi, Nov 13

A report by The Friday Times warned that traders who have found new routes may not return even after borders reopen, saying that the core problem is not distance but predictability.

Pakistan remains geographically closest to landlocked Afghanistan with Karachi and Port Qasim offering the shortest sea access, it added.

Yet repeated closures at Torkham and Chaman have made that advantage less valuable for importers who need certainty on cost, time and delivery.

The October 2025 closure illustrated the cost.

Hundreds of trucks were stranded with around 255 export vehicles stuck inside the Torkham terminal and another 200 held up on the Jamrud-Landi Kotal road, according to the report.

Customs clearance at Chaman was suspended. For perishable goods like fruits and vegetables, days of waiting can wipe out the entire value of a shipment, while exporters face delayed payments and mounting fuel and parking charges.

Afghan businesses have responded by building alternatives.

Iran's Chabahar port is now a key sea gateway, while road and rail corridors through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan link Afghanistan to Central Asia and beyond. The diversification has worked.

Pakistan's losses are visible in two sets of numbers.

Transit cargo through Pakistan -- goods merely passing through its ports and roads -- fell to 11,592 containers worth about $367 million in FY2025-26, down from nearly 89,000 containers worth around $5 billion before 2021.

More directly, Pakistan's own exports to Afghanistan collapsed to $243.7 million in FY2025-26 from $783.9 million in FY2024-25, a fall of almost 69 per cent.

This came after exports had earlier recovered to $1.34 billion in 2024-25.

The report further cautions against reading transit values as direct income loss as Pakistan earns mainly from port, transport, warehousing and handling services.

— IANS