After more than a month since the Torkham crossing has remained closed to commercial goods, millions of dollars in damages have been inflicted on traders and farmers.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce said that trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has decreased by nearly 60% this year.

Khanjan Alokozay, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, told TOLOnews: “Pakistan creates administrative conditions in such a way that they ultimately result in excuses for us not to trade. In terms of transit, we used to transit 80,000 to 150,000 containers annually from Karachi.”

Afghanistan is among the countries where the balance of exports and imports is not equal. According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Afghanistan annually conducts nearly ten billion dollars in trade with other countries, of which approximately two billion dollars are exports.

Out of the exports, about one billion dollars are exported to Pakistan; however, the closure of shared crossings and the periodic increase in customs tariffs often lead to a reduction in trade with Pakistan.

Zalmai Azimi, one of the traders, told TOLOnews: “Our trade with Pakistan has been damaged. Taxes and duties have increased, and Pakistan has inflicted millions of dollars in damages on us.”

Several traders say that transit through Pakistan has also decreased and that bilateral agreements are needed to resolve the trade challenges with Pakistan.

Farid Azimi, an Afghan trader, said: “There needs to be an understanding and commitment with the neighboring country to resolve these issues. Currently, as we speak, it has been three days since alternative routes to the neighboring country or to India, such as the Ghulam Khan port or the Shahr-e-Naw route, have also been blocked in some form.”

According to information from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Afghanistan exported goods worth $329 million to Pakistan in the first six months of this year, showing a 31% decrease compared to the same period last year.