KARACHI: Repeated closures of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have brought bilateral medicine trade to a standstill, leaving hundreds of trucks stranded and “jeopardising” nearly $200 million worth of pharmaceutical exports, industry sources said.

Industry representatives warn that the ongoing blockade at Torkham and Chaman is crippling pharmaceutical supplies to Afg­hanistan, spoiling temperature-sensitive drugs, and exposing Pakistan to massive commercial losses at a time when exporters cannot afford another shock.

They argue that Afg­h­anistan remains Pakistan’s largest overland trading partner and the main transit route for onward access to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kaz­a­khstan. Each shutdown cuts Pakistan off from these landlocked economies, disrupts regional connectivity projects, and undermines multilateral investments tied to the Pakistan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan railway and other corridor initiatives.

“The closures are now so frequent that they have become a structural threat, forcing countries investing in this route to consider more predictable alternatives. For Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector, the impact is already severe,” said Tauqeer ul Haq of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).

“Almost all exports to Afghanistan have stopped, and containers carrying antibiotics, insulin, vacci­nes, cardiovascular dru­gs, and other essential medicines are stuck at border crossings, dry ports, and warehouses. The delays have pushed local manufacturers toward irreversible financial losses. In one case, a single firm has products worth Rs850 million stranded at Torkham and Chaman, while more than fifty companies face similar setbacks.”

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2025