LAKKI MARWAT: The business community of Bannu district has asked the government to reopen the Ghulam Khan border crossing for bilateral trade and business activities.

Addressing a press conference at the Bannu Press Club on Sunday, Ghulam Khan trade union president Haji Malik Abdullah Khan, anjuman tajiran president Pir Gul Manzoor Shah, muttahida tajiran president Abdul Rauf Quraishi, general secretary of the chamber of commerce and industries Ghulam Qeebaz Khan, general secretary of anjuman tajiran Farman Niaz Khan, fruit and vegetable market president Imran Durrani, chairman Hakamzad Khan and others said that the closure of the trade route resulted in huge losses to the businessmen on both the sides of the border.

They said that the border had been closed for the past one month, disrupting trade activities between the countries. “The North Waziristan district is the closest land trade route with different counties including Afghanistan and the reopening of the Glulam Khan border crossing will boost bilateral trade and goods transportation from Pakistan to the Central Asian States,” they maintained.

The traders’ leaders said that besides badly impacting import and export business the closure of the border crossing point had caused significant financial loss to the business community.

They asked the relevant government authorities from both the sides to sit together and resolve the issues through negotiations once and for all.

They also demanded of the prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, and the chief secretary and the local administrations of Bannu and North Waziristan districts to look into the matter and save traders of southern districts from financial loss.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025