Pakistan's Bank Alfalah has completed its exit from Afghanistan after 20 years, transferring its banking business to local lender Ghazanfar Bank. The bank said in a notice to shareholders on Friday that the transaction closed on Thursday, 5 November, after final agreements were signed and approvals were secured from the State Bank of Pakistan and Da Afghanistan Bank. All assets and liabilities linked to the business have been transferred, and the bank has halted all banking operations in Afghanistan.

Two decades in Kabul and Herat

Bank Alfalah entered the Afghan market in 2005, opening its first branch in Kabul and offering both conventional and Islamic banking services before expanding to Herat. The exit had been in development for nearly a year. In January 2026 the central banks of both countries gave in-principle approval for due diligence, and account holders in Kabul and Herat were told to decide by 2 November whether to transfer their balances to Ghazanfar Bank or withdraw their funds and close their accounts.

A banking sector in crisis

The bank said its Kabul and Herat branches would be closed in line with regulatory requirements. Afghanistan's banking sector remains mired in crisis under Taliban rule, with frozen foreign reserves and uncertainty over international recognition of the government weighing on the system. Bank Alfalah is one of Pakistan's leading private banks, and the Afghan business — just two branches — was small beside its domestic network of more than 1,100 branches.

[Source: Fergana News (citing Ariana News and Business Recorder)](https://en.fergana.news/news/150636/) | [Source: Heart of Asia](https://heartofasia.af/pakistans-bank-alfalah-exits-afghanistan-after-20-years/)