Afghan govt protests transit ban on export to India via Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Rizwan Abbasi):  Afghanistan has formally raised the issue of not allowing exports to India via Pakistan with Islamabad.

According to sources, a high-level delegation led by the Afghan Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce held detailed discussions with Pakistani officials on the issue during a recent visit to Islamabad.

Sources said that the Afghan delegation pointed out that Pakistan has stopped allowing Afghan exports to India via Wagah from May 2025, which is against the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement 2010.

The Afghan delegation expressed reservations, citing the clause under the agreement that allows exports to a third country through the Wagah border.

On this occasion, the Pakistani delegation, led by the Secretary of Commerce, briefed the Afghan authorities about the new policy and clarified that Pakistan has imposed a ban on third-country trade activities with India in May 2025 due to the recent tense relations.
According to sources, the Pakistani delegation told the Afghan authorities that under the current policy, no third-country trade with India is being allowed through Pakistan’s land route and this decision has been taken keeping in mind the national interests.
This issue is likely to be discussed in the upcoming talks between the delegations of the two countries so that any potential conflict in the bilateral transit trade framework can be avoided.