Afghanistan: During a meeting with industrialists and traders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, made several key recommendations regarding the protection and sustainability of national trade.
He emphasized that traders and industrialists should seek alternative routes for trade instead of relying on Pakistan.
“All Afghan traders and industrialists should turn to alternative trade routes instead of Pakistan. These routes have not only harmed our traders but have also caused difficulties for markets and the general public. I strongly urge all traders to implement alternative options for imports and exports as soon as possible,” he said.
Baradar warned that after this notice, if anyone continues to trade with Pakistan, the Islamic Emirate will not cooperate with or listen to such traders.
He assured that Afghanistan now has access to alternative trade routes for imports and exports, and that its economic ties with regional countries have expanded significantly compared to the past.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is continuously working to establish new alternative routes for regional and global connectivity and to make existing routes more standard and efficient from technical and infrastructural perspectives,” he added.
Baradar also stated that Afghanistan is often targeted with political pressure, and that trade relations and the suffering of refugees are being used as tools for irrational political motives. He stressed that no one can deny the fact that all countries are interdependent when it comes to trade.
Finally, he urged Pakistan that if it wishes to reopen trade routes with Afghanistan this time, it must provide firm guarantees that the routes will never be closed again under any circumstances.
