KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that border crossings and transit routes with Afghanistan will be reopened.
Pakistan’s Minute Mirror reported on Saturday night, August 8, that Naqvi announced the decision during a meeting with representatives of the country’s business community.
According to the report, a meeting chaired by Naqvi, attended by senior officials and representatives of the business community, resulted in a decision to reopen all border crossings and transit routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The report said the meeting discussed measures to remove obstacles to bilateral trade and facilitate the movement of goods between the two countries.
The issue of facilitating legal travel between Afghanistan and Pakistan for citizens of both countries was also discussed, although no specific decision was reached on the matter.
Pakistani government officials have not yet officially commented on the reported decisions or confirmed the reopening of the border crossings and transit routes.
The Torkham crossing, one of two main trade routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, was shut on October 2025 for both travelers and cargo after several days of intense clashes.
Torkham crossing is located between Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan’s Nangarhar provinces, is a key gateway for Afghanistan’s imports of food, fuel, and construction materials, and for Pakistan’s exports of cement, textiles, and agricultural products.
Bilateral trade between the two countries peaked at around $2.5 billion in 2010 but fell to $1.6 billion before rising slightly to just over $1.8 billion in 2022–23, according to the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The closure of the Torkham border and other crossing points has disrupted trade and transportation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, further straining an already fragile Afghan economy. Prolonged border restrictions have caused delays in the movement of essential goods, increased transportation and supply costs, and contributed to higher prices in local markets.
Traders and transporters on both sides have faced significant losses, while Afghan families, already struggling with unemployment and declining incomes, have been particularly affected by rising costs and limited access to affordable goods.
Currently, only the Torkham crossing in Nangarhar, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, and Bahramcha in Helmand remain open for the return of Afghan migrants from Pakistan.
The reopening of the crossings could help ease disruptions to bilateral trade and the movement of people and goods, after months of border closures that have affected traders, transporters and communities on both sides of the border. However, the implementation of the reported decision will depend on an official announcement and further measures by the Pakistani government.
