KHYBER: Sudden disruption in the internet service in Afghanistan hugely impacted the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan via Torkham border on Wednesday.

Sources at Torkham border told this scribe that Pakistani customs authorities faced difficulties in clearance of trade goods due to non-availability of internet service on the Afghan side.

They said that online verificationof documents pertaining to Afghan exports and Pakistani imports was a prerequisite for all types of goods clearance after submission of Goods Deceleration (GD) with the customs officials.

They said that all the trading documents were duly verified by the commerce minister in Kabul through the internet prior to customs clearance and the process had now come to a complete halt.

Mujeebullah Shinwari, president Torkham customs clearing agents association, told Dawn that clearance of all consignments was abruptly stopped after suspension of the internet service, leaving hundreds traders, clearing agents and transporters in a quandary about their already loaded consignments, which also included hundreds of trucks loaded with perishable items, especially fruits and vegetables.

He said it was only after hectic efforts and marathon negotiations with customs officials about the clearance of the stranded goods on an emergency basis that a temporary alternative was sorted out with the traders and clearing agents required to submit an undertaking with customs officials about the document verification of all the loaded goods prior to its urgent clearance.

“As of now, we are operating under an ad hoc arrangement for goods clearance but we are still apprehensive about the future as there is no clear-cut information about the restoration of internet service from the Afghan side in the near future,” he stated.

Customs officials at Torkham too were perturbed with the sudden’loss’ of internet service from the Afghan side and they said that it will badly hit the already dwindling trade between the two countries.

Meanwhile, immigration officials at Torkham said that with a ‘slight’ disruption in the return process of Afghans on Tuesday, the pedestrian movement was restored with exception to the Afghan border authorities’ reluctance to allow returning Pakistani nationals from Afghanistan due to problems in their online verification of travel documents on the Afghan side of the border.

Border officials said on condition of anonymity that their contacts with their Afghan counterparts in customs, immigration and security set up too were suspended.

They also acknowledged that so far no official contact was made by either side about the new development.The internet and mobile service suspension also affected taxi service at Torkham as local taxi drivers said that they would mostly rely on WhatsApp messaging with their Afghan clients for their travel to their desired destination in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025