Ethnic tensions on the other side of the border are the reason for the closure of the Ghulam Khan crossing

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Jan Aqa Naveed, spokesperson for the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said in an interview with AVA that all trade borders, including Ghulam Khan, are important for Afghanistan and we are trying to ensure that no border is closed for the transfer of trade goods with any country.
According to Mr. Naveed, the closure of the Ghulam Khan border will cause losses to traders, but this crossing will cause the most damage to traders in Khost province, which borders Pakistan. According to him, other borders are still open and trade with Pakistan is flowing normally.
According to Navid, the Ghulam Khan border has been temporarily closed. The Chamber of Commerce and Investment, in cooperation with the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, under the title of "Afghan-Pak", is trying to talk to the governments of the two countries and pave the way for the reopening of this port.
He also emphasized that Afghanistan's trade is not currently limited to one or two borders, but has good trade relations with all neighboring countries, and the closure of one route does not have much impact on the country's trade and transit process.
Yesterday, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment warned that the closure of the Ghulam Khan port would seriously harm trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan, at least in the border province, and cause huge losses to traders.
Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the board of directors of this chamber and head of the Afghan-Pak Joint Chamber of Commerce, told the media on Sunday, July 28, that about 600 containers were stopped on both sides of the border, which is really a loss for both Afghan and Pakistani traders. According to him, the Pakistani side cited security and ethnic problems as the reason for closing the port.
According to him, this is a port through which more than 200 to 250 containers are exchanged daily, and it has been almost two days since all these containers stopped, and about 600 containers are stopped on both sides. Most of the exports sent through this route are fruits, food, minerals such as coal, talc, chromite, etc.
Mr. Alokozai added that although their efforts to reopen the Ghulam Khan port continue, the sudden and uncoordinated stoppage has increased the concerns of traders.
Meanwhile, Rafiullah Tajir, a fruit exporter, in an interview with Ava, described the closure of the Ghulam Khan crossing as a serious harm to traders and called on the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan to reopen this border as soon as possible.
The trader also said that with the closure of the Ghulam Khan border, traffic congestion has increased at the Torkham border for two days, and yesterday many trucks carrying traders' goods were stopped at the border due to lack of attention, and traders have suffered losses.
According to the trader, 37 to 40 trucks daily travel from the Zardalo route to Ghulam Khan port and from there to Peshawar, Pakistan, and all these trucks have been stopped for the last two days, causing huge losses to traders.
Ghulam Khan port is an important border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, located in Khost province in southeastern Afghanistan. This crossing is located on the common border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and serves as an important trade route between the two countries.