QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-Afghanistan border continued to remain closed for all kinds of trade activities on Friday, due to persistent security concerns amid tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan.

Officials denied reports that Islamabad had partially opened the border crossing at Chaman for Afghan transit trade. Even pedestrians are not allowed to cross the border from both sides, they added.

“The border has been closed for the last 12 days and not opened for any commercial activities so far, including transit trade,” a senior customs official told Dawn.

The official added that there were very few transit trade trucks parked at the Chaman crossing.

The district administration officials also said that they have not yet received any instructions from the authorities from Islamabad about the opening of the border.

The border opens for a very limited time for Afghan refugees, who were reaching Chaman from different areas of Balochistan and Karachi, to return to their home country.

Officials said only vehicles repatriating the household goods of Afghan refugees and returning to their country via the Chaman border were allowed to travel through the border.

However, traders hope that the situation would be relaxed after a meeting between officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul today.

‘Customs staff ready’

Separately, the FBR announced that customs staffers are stationed at border points and ready to resume the clearance process as soon as it reopens and the situation returns to normal.

The announcement from the tax department follows the build-up of over 1,000 trucks loaded with transit cargo, export consignments, and imported goods at the border stations with Afghanistan.

The disruption stems from the suspension of customs clearance for both exports and imports at major border crossings — Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi, and Angoor Adda — effective Oct 12, and at the Chaman border from Oct 15.

An official announcement of the FBR said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is temporarily halted due to security concerns at the border customs stations

Before the suspension of bilateral trade took effect, customs officials successfully processed and cleared 363 import vehicles at Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi, and Angoor Adda crossings, falling under the jurisdiction of Northern region of Appraisement.

At Torkham, clearance of 23 import vehicles remains pending due to the failure of importers to file goods declarations. The vehicles are carrying non-perishable items such as fabric, paint, peanuts, and pulses. Customs authorities are expected to process the consignments promptly once the required declarations are submitted by the respective importers or their clearing agents.

With respect to exports, 255 vehicles remain parked inside the Torkham terminal due to the ongoing border closure, while around 200 more are stranded along the Jamrud–Landi Kotal road. Meanwhile, no import vehicles are pending clearance at the Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi, and Angoor Adda border stations.

Customs clearance operations at the Chaman Border Customs Station have remained suspended since Oct 15. As a result, five import vehicles and 23 export consignments are currently awaiting processing. Notably, the exporters have opted not to dray off their consignments, choosing instead to wait for the resumption of cross-border trade.

In terms of transit cargo, approximately 495 vehicles are queued for border crossing at Torkham and Chaman. Of these, the majority — 412 vehicles — are stranded at Chaman, while the remaining 83 are held up at Torkham, the announcement added.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2025