Taliban Demands Guarantees from Pakistan to Reopen Trade Routes Amid Tensions

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the economic deputy of the Taliban government, announced in a meeting with merchants and industrialists in Kabul that trade routes with Pakistan will only be reopened after Islamabad provides a written and solid guarantee that these routes will not be blocked again under any circumstances…

This firm stance by the Taliban comes at a time when Islamabad has blocked routes with Afghanistan for over a month following increased tensions and border clashes between the two sides.

Suspension of Drug Imports and Seeking Alternative Routes

The economic deputy of the Taliban government, highlighting the instability in trade relations with Pakistan, urged merchants and industrialists to seek alternative routes for their trade and reduce dependence on pathways through Pakistan.

This senior Taliban official also issued another important commercial directive, calling for the suspension of drug imports from Pakistan. He gave drug importers three months to settle their accounts with Pakistani merchants if they have active contracts, and to change their import sources.

So far, Pakistan has not commented on the explicit and firm statements made by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

It is worth mentioning that the third round of negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistan, which took place last Friday in Istanbul, Turkey, ended without results, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress in the talks. The Taliban’s new decision to condition the reopening of the border and suspend drug imports is considered a diplomatic aftershock of this failure.