According to Amac News, Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan, recently said that if Pakistan continues to obstruct economic activities, further damage may be done to the economic relations between the two countries.
He added that the ministry is trying to resolve this problem through dialogue with the Pakistani side.
Akhundzada stated: “Once again, we and you are witnessing that they have closed the Torkham crossing, obstructing our trade and transit, which clearly harms both our traders and nation, and their own (Pakistani) traders and nation.”
He expressed hope that Pakistan would reconsider this matter and try to fundamentally resolve this issue.
Officials of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce have also said that trade and transit between Kabul and Islamabad, including all economic activities, have been politicized by Pakistan, which has increased the challenges of trade between the two countries.
Officials of the chamber have added that if these problems continue from Pakistan, Afghan traders may end their trade and economic relations with Pakistan.
Khan Jan Alokozai, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber, told Afghan media: “Currently, since the road is closed, they (Pakistan) are paying a lot of money from us in this situation. Hundreds of Pakistani cars pass through this crossing, but all of these are currently dead and they are suffering.”
For more than a week, the Torkham border crossing in eastern Afghanistan, which connects the country to Pakistan, has been closed to all traffic by Pakistan. As a result of Pakistan's action, thousands of freight forwarders carrying commercial goods have been stranded on both sides of Torkham.