Pakistan will not resume trade with Afghanistan until its security concerns are addressed and attacks launched from Afghan territory come to an end, an adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor has said.

Samar Haroon Bilour, adviser to the provincial governor, said on Saturday, 7 November, that reopening the border crossings would require practical cooperation from the Taliban authorities in Kabul and action on concerns Pakistan considers legitimate. He gave no date for a possible reopening.

Trade between the two neighbours has been suspended since October 2025. The closure covers the main crossings at Torkham and Spin Boldak, the routes that once carried the bulk of goods moving between the two countries.

Pakistan's Foreign Office has confirmed the same position. Its spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said the border remains closed for trade for now, adding that commercial activity would resume depending on the security situation.

Why the crossings closed

The suspension began after border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes in parts of Afghanistan. The clashes left dozens of people dead or injured, and Pakistan said the closures were required for security reasons.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of allowing fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, known as the TTP, to operate from Afghan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban deny the accusation.

Bilour called on the Taliban authorities to stop armed groups from using Afghanistan as a base for attacks on Pakistan, saying trade could not restart without measures to address the security concerns.

Traders look for other routes

With the main crossings shut to commercial traffic, Afghan traders have been seeking routes through Iran and Central Asia instead. Torkham has reopened at times for the movement of people, including Afghans returning home, but not for goods.

The earlier suspension has already been felt in northwestern Pakistan, where traders and shoppers faced supply shortages and higher prices for perishable goods such as tomatoes and fresh produce.

No official estimate of the trade losses, or of the number of traders affected, has been published.

What happens next

No timetable for reopening has been announced, and no specific steps agreed with the Taliban authorities have been made public. Bilour said renewed trade depended on practical cooperation and on the attacks stopping, with the crossings still closed in the meantime.

The dispute sits alongside a fragile ceasefire between the two sides, brokered with mediation from Turkiye and Qatar, which has held despite repeated accusations from both capitals. For now, the message from Islamabad is unchanged: trade stays on hold until the security question is answered.