Trade route with Pakistan to reopen only after strong assurances from Islamabad: Taliban
Kabul, Dec 4 (IANS) The Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Thursday made it clear once again that the trade routes with Pakistan will reopen only after strong assurances are received from the government in Islamabad.
In a statement shared on X, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of “illegally blocking” trade and transit routes with Afghanistan as a means of political and economic pressure which led to people from both nations facing losses.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan once again reiterates its position regarding the opening of trade routes with Pakistan. As the trade and transit routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan had been illegally blocked by Pakistan as a means of political and economic pressure, which brought serious losses to the people of both sides,” Mujahid posted on X.
“Since Afghanistan meets its needs from numerous other countries, the Islamic Emirate has decided that, in order to expand trade and transit, and also for the welfare and honorable trade between the two sides, trade routes with Pakistan will reopen when strong assurances are obtained from the Pakistani government; so that in the future these routes are not closed due to political pressure, illegal use, or pressure on the people, and the rights of traders and people of both countries are protected,” he added.
The Taliban spokesperson’s statement came after Pakistan announced that it has reopened the Torkham and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan for United Nations humanitarian aid, as per local media reports.
Earlier in October, Pakistan shut all trade routes with Afghanistan after Pakistani forces conducted attacks near the Durand Line. In response to Pakistan’s attacks, Afghan forces also carried out attacks. After the closure of trade route, Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Deputy Prime urged industrialists and traders to use alternative trade routes instead of Pakistan, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi accused Pakistan of trying to impose “mysterious projects” on Kabul and using economic pressure, border shutdown and political leverage to destabilise the Taliban administration, local media reported.
While addressing a gathering in Kabul on Wednesday, Muttaqi said that Pakistan hoped that people in Afghanistan would be angry and pressure the Taliban administration after the former shut trade routes. However, he said that Pakistan’s border shutdown did not cause shortage or unrest in Afghanistan and said that other regional partners supplied essential goods to Kabul, Afghanistan’s leading news agency, Khaama Press reported.
He said that Pakistan has been engaged in long-standing disputes with almost all of its neighbours and is pressurising Afghanistan with what he termed as “unrealistic and unacceptable” security demands.
He stressed that the Taliban has already taken measures to address concerns of the Pakistani administration, including shifting Waziristani tribal families away from the frontier and deploying additional border forces in the past four years.
He said Pakistan expects the Taliban to “deliver everything” while Islamabad itself is unable to resolve its own internal security problems. He also slammed Pakistan’s political system, stressing that decision-making is divided between civilian leaders and the military, making negotiations inconsistent and difficult.
–IANS
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