Key Points:

• The arrival of the Taliban government in Afghanistan has once again led to a decline in trade relations between both countries.
• Just a few months after the Taliban takeover, the KP customs chief collector reported that Pakistan had lost its export volume to Afghanistan by 25 per cent.
• Frequent mismanagement at the Torkham border explains the slowing down of cargo movement through this leading trade border.
• The traders across both sides believe that inefficient border measures by the two states have led to the failure to realise the potential of 10 billion dollars worth of trade.
• Pakistan’s FBR’s Directorate General of Trade published a report in 2019 that blames Afghan Transit Trade for establishing an alternate “black economy” in Pakistan.
• Provided that both states put effective trade mechanisms and policies in place, there is a massive trade potential yet to be realised between both countries.