Samar Haroon Bilour, an adviser to the governor of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said trade with Afghanistan would not resume as long as terrorist attacks continued from Afghan territory and Islamabad’s security concerns remained unresolved.
She urged the Taliban to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Speaking on Saturday, 7 November, Bilour said reopening trade crossings depended on addressing what Pakistan describes as its legitimate security concerns and securing practical cooperation from Taliban authorities.
Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been suspended since October 2025, following border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes on various parts of Afghanistan.
The border clashes left dozens of people dead or injured, after which major crossings between the two countries, including Torkham and Spin Boldak, were closed.
Pakistan says the closures were imposed for security reasons.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory, an allegation the Taliban denies.
The suspension of trade has sharply reduced commercial exchanges between the two countries and forced Afghan traders to use alternative routes, including those through Iran and Central Asian countries.
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