KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban is expanding the use of trade routes through Iran and Central Asia as border crossings with Pakistan remain closed for weeks, disrupting the flow of goods between the two major trading partners.
Reuters reports that the Taliban is increasingly using Iran’s concessions to move freight through the Indian-backed port of Chabahar, allowing traders to bypass Pakistan and avoid recurring border and transit disruptions.
Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Industry and Commerce, told Reuters that trade with Iran reached 1.6 billion dollars over the past six months, surpassing the 1.1 billion dollars recorded with Pakistan in the same period. Jawad said the facilities at Chabahar have reduced delays and given traders confidence that shipments will not stop when borders close.
The report also cited Akhundzada, another spokesperson for the Taliban commerce ministry, as saying Iran has installed updated equipment and X-ray scanners and offered Afghan cargo a 30% cut in port tariffs, 75% off storage fees and 55% off docking charges.
India, which has stepped up engagement with the Taliban in recent months, operates key terminals at Chabahar and views the port as a strategic link to Afghanistan and Central Asia. In October, the United States granted New Delhi a six-month sanctions waiver to continue operating the facility.
Taliban officials have given Afghan traders three months to settle accounts with Pakistan and shift to alternative routes, signalling a broader change in regional trade. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, recently announced that imports of medicines from Pakistan will be fully banned within the next three months, citing the “low quality” of Pakistani pharmaceuticals.
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawja Asif, told local media that the Taliban’s redirection of trade would not harm Pakistan’s economy, saying Afghanistan is “free to trade through any port or country.”
According to Reuters, the Taliban has also increased shipments through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, citing new transit agreements, lower border charges and expanded offices at Milak and Zahedan, Iran’s main crossings for Afghanistan goods.
However, Pakistan remains the quickest route to the sea, with trucks reaching the port of Karachi in three days. Its exports to Afghanistan reached 1.5 billion dollars in 2024.
