Up to 50% reduction in trade deals between Afghanistan and Pakistan: ACCI

There has been an unprecedented reduction in trade deals between Afghanistan and Pakistan since relations between the two countries hit a new low in mid-April this year. Officials in Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) have said the trade deals have been affected by up to 50% in recent months.

A spokesman for ACCI Seyamuddin Pasarle has said the main reason behind an unprecedented reduction in trade deals and investments has been the recent political upheavals.

The remark by the ACCI official comes as reports emerged earlier this month suggesting that the medical business in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan suffered heavily following the recent upheavals in political relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

“Since the Torkham incident, we were getting less than 10 per cent of the usual number of Afghan patients especially during Ramzan,” a doctor at a private hospital in Peshawar said. “This is a lot less even for the month of Ramzan when there is a general drop in the number of patients by about 50 per cent.”

Another doctor in Rahman Medical Institute (RMI) said the number of patients had gone down drastically during the last couple of months, especially since the violent clashes at Torkham.

The reduced number of Afghan patients visiting the city for treatment has also affected other trades, including the sale of medicines while occupancy at guesthouses and the revenues of transport services have also declined.

Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad increased following a series of deadly attacks in Afghanistan and recent clash between Afghan and Pakistani forces in Torkham.

Clashes between the Afghan border guards and Pakistani forces erupted after the Pakistani side started work on the construction of a gate along the Durand Line.