Unemployment and Economic Collapse across Durand Line

DID Press: With 35 days having passed since the closure of the main border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan—including Torkham, Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan, Angoor Adda, and Chaman—thousands of traders, laborers, and drivers in northwestern Pakistan have lost their sources of income, and an unprecedented recession has swept through local markets. The complete halt of human and commercial movement, following clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban government, has inflicted millions of dollars in daily losses on the trade of both countries.

Sector representatives warn that continuation of this situation will evolve into a humanitarian and economic crisis. According to the Torkham Workers’ Union, more than 1,500 registered laborers—and nearly 3,000 daily-wage workers including child laborers—currently have no income, and rising unemployment among the youth is pushing them toward crime and illegal activities.

Economic actors say local businesses are collapsing. Yadullah Shinwari, head of the Landi Kotal market, said:
“Before the border closure, each shopkeeper earned more than 30,000 rupees a day; now sales have dropped to 1,000–2,000 rupees. Commercial activity has almost completely stopped, and poor families can’t even afford daily bread.”

The transit sector is also in crisis. Mujib Shinwari, head of the Pakistan Customs Clearing Agents Association, says 150 clearance offices with more than 800 employees have essentially shut down. According to him, Pakistan is losing between $1.5 million and $2 million daily in exports, and more than $550 million in import value, while thousands of trucks carrying perishable goods are stranded on both sides of the border.

Meanwhile, prices of Afghan agricultural products—including tomatoes, onions, grapes, and pomegranates—have sharply increased inside Pakistan due to the cutoff in imports. Prior to the shutdown, the Torkham crossing facilitated the daily movement of roughly 10,000 passengers and more than 500 vehicles.

Sohail Afridi, the newly elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has called for closer cooperation with Pakistan’s federal government to improve relations with Afghanistan and combat terrorism in the tribal districts. Business leaders warn that continued border closures may force the shutdown of more semi-operational industries in Pakistan and lead to mass unemployment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They urge Islamabad and Kabul to resume dialogue and reopen transit operations as soon as possible to prevent further losses before the crisis deepens.