KARACHI: Pakistan has suspended all cargo transport to Afghanistan under the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) agreement amid heightened tensions following days of deadly border clashes between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces, The News reported Thursday.
According to customs officials, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed all port terminals in Karachi to halt clearance operations for Afghan-bound cargo and offload containers already loaded onto trucks. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by the Director General of Afghan Transit Trade at Karachi’s Customs House.
The move comes after a week of skirmishes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier. Islamabad said its forces launched “precision strikes and raids” targeting Taliban camps, terrorist training facilities, and support networks operating from Afghan territory.
Officials claim the operations killed over 200 Taliban fighters and allied militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known locally as Fitna al-Khawarij.
The clashes reignited earlier this week, with Pakistan reportedly conducting further strikes inside Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. A temporary 48-hour ceasefire was reached Wednesday on Kabul’s request, but tensions remain high.
Pakistani officials say relations with the Taliban-led interim government have deteriorated due to Kabul’s failure to curb cross-border militant activity.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harboring TTP terrorists responsible for a surge in attacks across Pakistan’s border regions.
Following the suspension, customs authorities said there are long queues of stranded transit trucks at Karachi’s South Asia Pakistan Terminal (SAPT), Quetta, and Peshawar.
Drivers transporting Afghan-bound goods are waiting for further instructions as the trade route remains closed indefinitely.
The Afghan Transit Trade, established to facilitate landlocked Afghanistan’s access to global markets through Pakistani ports, has been repeatedly disrupted in recent years due to tensions between the two neighbors.
