Torkham Border Closure Causing Irreparable Losses On Economy, Business Community: Haji Ghulam Ali

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2025) Former Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and leading businessman, Haji Ghulam Ali has expressed deep concern over prolong closure of Torkham border for business activities, inflicting irreparable losses on business community and economy of the country.

These views were expressed by Haji Ghulam Ali while chairing an important meeting organized by Sarhad Business Alliance here on Tuesday.

The meeting participants noted that border closure has had significant impacts on the business community, the country’s economy, and its people, as livelihood of thousands of people is associated with Pak-Afghan trade in both the countries.

The participants in the meeting expressed concern over the closure of Torkham border for 17 days and said that businesses of thousands of traders have not only been destroyed but also billions of rupees are being lost on both sides.

Former provincial ministers Malik Mehar Elahi, Adnan Jalil, Syed Sirajuddin, former President Sarhad Chamber Dr Yousuf Sarwar, Ghulam Bilal Javed, Sharukh Khan, Minhajuddin Bacha and other business leaders attended the meeting.

The participants stressed that the Torkham border should be opened immediately to alleviate the hardships of the public and the business community during the blessed month of Ramadan, as traders are suffering huge losses and the public is also suffering irretrievable losses.

The meeting appealed to the government to adopt a policy of keeping trade routes open at all times. The meeting made it clear that leaving border trade at the mercy of bureaucracy and unnecessary policies is a serious joke on the economy and the business community, which is not in the interest of the business community.

The meeting demanded that the Federal government immediately issue orders to open the Torkham border so that traders and the general public can be saved from further hardships.

Furthermore, the participants appealed to the authorities of both countries to resolve the disputes through negotiations so that the business community and the public do not face any difficulties.