Pakistan Afghanistan Border Closed for One Year: What It Has Cost Trade

Short answer: Pakistan's land trade with Afghanistan has been shut for one year. The closure began on 12 October 2025, after deadly border clashes, and it covers five main crossings. No reopening date has been announced. The loss figures below are estimates from traders and reports, not numbers from a government release.

A truck driver in Peshawar who once made two trips a week to Kabul now waits for a cargo that never comes. A fruit seller in a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mandi pays more for tomatoes. That is how a border closure reaches an ordinary home. It starts as a notice at a gate and ends as a price on a shelf.

We read the Foreign Office briefing of 9 October 2026 on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on 12 October 2026. It does not mention the border crossings or trade. It speaks about terrorism from Afghan soil and about the Afghan refugees Pakistan hosts. So every trade figure on this page is marked as reported.

All five main crossings have been shut since 12 October 2025

Torkham, Chaman, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi and Angoor Adda have carried no regular trade for one year. Reports say Pakistan sealed them after clashes on the night of 11 to 12 October 2025. Some reports date the first halt a day or two earlier, so the exact day differs by source.

What has been lost is an estimate, and the sources differ

Nobody has published one official total. A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chamber estimate puts the loss at about 2.5 billion dollars, split into 1.644 billion in exports and 817 million in imports. Other reports give different totals, so treat each number as a range marker.

A central bank figure, reported but not opened by us, says exports to Afghanistan fell 56.61 per cent to 219.489 million dollars in July to December 2025. That period includes the three months before the closure. The State Bank's own data pages blocked our request on 12 October, so we could not read the table ourselves.

One more report counts shipping containers. It says 42,959 containers crossed in 2024-25 and 11,592 in 2025-26. Again, the second year includes the months before the halt. We mark all of these as reported, and we do not add them together.

Ordinary Pakistanis feel it in prices and wages

Border trade fed more than exporters. Truckers, loaders, tea stalls, mechanics and farmers all lived off it. Reports in the first weeks said fresh fruit and vegetables rotted at the gates and that tomato prices rose several times over. Those early price rises are the clearest sign of how local the effect is.

Pakistan has also had its own reasons to hold the line. The Prime Minister has said Pakistan was forced to halt Afghan trade over terror concerns, according to reports. The Foreign Office said on 9 October that groups such as the TTP and BLA have found safe havens in Afghanistan. Our own report on the air strikes Pakistan announced in early October shows how far apart the two sides remain.

Afghan trade is moving to other routes, and Pakistan loses share

Reports say Afghan traders have turned to Iran and Central Asia. One report put Afghanistan's trade with Iran at 1.6 billion dollars in six months, against 1.1 billion with Pakistan. We could not confirm that on an official page, so read it as direction, not as a measured gap.

Pakistan's own Iran border is a different story. It is open round the clock for travel, as in our note on the 24 hour Iran border crossings. Trade talks with Tehran are covered in the 10 billion dollar trade target. Neither replaces the Afghan market for goods such as cement, fruit and textiles.

What exporters and traders can do while the border is shut

Do not send trucks to a closed gate. Check your shipping and customs status first, then look at other markets and refund schemes. Keep paperwork for every halted consignment, because a claim or an insurance case needs dates and receipts.

1. Ask your clearing agent or collectorate whether your goods are held, returned or allowed to move, and get the answer in writing.
2. Keep the goods declaration, truck receipt and any demurrage bill for each stuck consignment.
3. Check that your exporter registration is active, using the steps in how to register as an exporter through WeBOC and TDAP.
4. See whether your new sales qualify for the export rebate for incremental exports.
5. Watch the monthly trade release for the Afghan line, starting with the September 2026 trade figures.

Common questions

Is the Pakistan Afghanistan border still closed for trade?

Yes, according to reports on 12 October 2026. Torkham, Chaman, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi and Angoor Adda have carried no regular trade since October 2025, and no reopening date has been announced.

When did the closure start?

Reports date it to the night of 11 to 12 October 2025. Some sources give a day or two earlier for the first halt, so we use 12 October as the common date.

How much has Pakistan lost?

There is no official total. One chamber estimate is about 2.5 billion dollars, which includes exports and imports. A central bank figure, as reported, shows exports fell 56.61 per cent in July to December 2025.

Can anyone cross for aid or medical reasons?

We could not confirm any current exception on an official page. Check with the district administration or the Foreign Office before you travel or send aid.

Is Afghan transit trade through Karachi also stopped?

Reports say Afghan transit trade through Pakistan has fallen sharply. We could not read a current customs notice, so ask your clearing agent about a specific consignment.

Where can I follow the official trade numbers?

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics posts a monthly summary on foreign trade. Our guide to checking the economy numbers on official pages shows where to look.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 12 October 2026. We read the Foreign Office press briefing of 9 October 2026 at mofa.gov.pk, and it has no statement on the border or on trade. We could not open the State Bank or the Bureau of Statistics tables for the Afghan line, so every loss figure is reported. We name no figure as official on this page.