The Torkham and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan remained closed for all commercial activities last Sunday, in light of the “escalating security situation” along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as it emerged on Thursday.
This event comes after military hostilities between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to a temporary ceasefire after a new round of deadly cross-border clashes that threatened to escalate into a broader conflict.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry (FO) said the ceasefire, implemented at the request of the Taliban and with mutual consent, came into effect at 6 p.m. local time on October 15 and would last for 48 hours.
According to a notification from the General Directorate of Transit Commerce – dated October 15 and available with sunrise.com — Transit vehicles heading to Afghanistan have reached the crossings but cannot leave Pakistani territory.
“These vehicles are equipped with tracking devices and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) seals under the new tracking and monitoring system that was launched on October 1,” the notification said.
“These border terminals have limited parking spaces, causing serious congestion,” he added. “In addition, prolonged parking or stopping of vehicles can encourage device theft, as well as tampering with seals, which can lead to theft of cargo in custody. Additionally, in the absence of return trips, there are [a] “possibility of shortage of tracking devices in port terminals.”
The management reported that as of Wednesday, 107 vehicles arrived in Torkham, while 357 arrived in Chaman. Another 37 vehicles are on their way to Torkham and another 85 to Chaman.
“To avoid congestion at border stations and ensure the security of goods in custody, this directorate, in consultation with port terminal operators, customs carriers, Afghan clearance agents and tracking companies, has temporarily stopped the processing of shipments in transit until the normalization of border operations,” the notification concludes.
Torkham and Chama are key trade corridors between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with goods such as fresh produce crossing the border. Official data showed that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan increased by 38.68 percent to $773.89 million in FY25, up from $558.03 million in the previous fiscal year.
Cross-border trade has been halted several times. Earlier this month, the disruption of internet service in Afghanistan affected bilateral trade between Islamabad and Kabul across the Torkham border, with Pakistani customs authorities having difficulty clearing goods due to non-availability of internet on the Afghan side.
In March, cross-border movement of people through the Torkham border crossing was abruptly suspended after Pakistani and Afghan security forces disagreed over construction activities on both sides of the border.
