The persisting impasse |
The prolonged closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border since October 11 is no longer just a security or diplomatic issue; it has evolved into a full-blown economic and humanitarian crisis for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as for those affected across the border.
Moreover, it has entailed reputational repercussions for Pakistan's commitment to multilateral trade mechanisms, placing the country in a paradoxical bind. Let us examine the economic cost specific to K-P.
The daily formal cross-border commercial activity via K-P — once estimated at $50-60 million — is almost frozen, although smuggling is thriving unchecked. Border town economies in K-P, which depend heavily on trade-linked services, have witnessed a sharp rise in unemployment, particularly among workers in transport, warehousing, freight handling and other allied services, as business turnover has collapsed.
Nearly ten thousand small cargo and passenger vehicles remain stranded in the border towns of Torkham, Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi. Over 20,000 daily wage workers, vendors and shopkeepers have lost their livelihoods. Thousands of trucks involved in bilateral and transit trade between Karachi and the border are idle. Many vehicles carrying goods and equipment remain stranded at border crossings — a clear sign of the scale of disruption to cargo flows and supply chains.
Regarding sector-specific shocks, cement, sugar, wheat flour, edible oil and fresh produce exports -........