New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) Pakistan’s economy has suffered losses of $1.4 billion over the past seven months as border tensions with Afghanistan and the ongoing Middle East crisis disrupted trade flows and export activity, a report has said.

According to an analysis by Kabul Now, the country lost nearly $850 million due to the closure of border crossings with Afghanistan between October 2025 and May 2026.

The report described tensions with Afghanistan and the wider Middle East conflict as two major shocks to Pakistan’s economy, with the conflict involving Iran further damaging export activity across Gulf markets.

Pakistan’s transport industry has also been affected significantly, as transport companies that previously earned around $200 million annually through Afghan transit and passenger vehicle movement saw operations disrupted following prolonged border closures.

In addition, the ongoing regional conflict has further weighed on Pakistan’s external trade, with the report estimating that hostilities involving Iran and broader instability in the Middle East resulted in nearly $600 million in export-related losses across Gulf markets.

Despite Pakistan’s overall trade volume reaching nearly $28 billion during the past nine months, it still marked a decline of about 23 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The deterioration in trade relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan stems largely from disputes over the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters in Afghanistan, which gradually escalated from border tensions into wider hostilities.

Following military exchanges between both sides, major border crossings, including Torkham, Spin Boldak and Bahramcha, were shut, severely affecting trade flows.

The prolonged disruption has pushed Afghanistan to increasingly rely on alternative trade routes, including Iran’s Chabahar Port and transport corridors linking China and Central Asia, reducing dependence on Pakistani transit networks.

Trade between the two neighbours has also witnessed a sharp decline. Bilateral trade fell from $2.46 billion in 2024 to $1.77 billion in 2025, according to available figures.

The extended closure of trade routes has disrupted supply chains, affected movement of food, fuel and consumer goods, and caused heavy financial losses for traders and transport operators on both sides of the border, according to the report.

–IANS

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