An association of Afghan exporters and importers residing in China raised concerns about the imposition of restrictions by the Pakistani government on the transit of commodities.

The head of the association, Khan Agha Gulzad, said that the traders have sustained millions of dollars in losses as their goods remained stranded in Karachi in Pakistan.

The restrictions will “deteriorate the Afghan economy overtime. The goods are mainly from the individuals who don’t have high investment—someone who invested between $50,000 to $60,000,” he said.

Meanwhile, some of the traders called on the Islamic Emirate to address the challenges faced by Afghanistan's business sector.

“We respectfully ask the Islamic Emirate to solve the issue through an understanding and diplomatic path,” said Sayed Zabiullah, a trader.

A member of the executive board of the Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Zalmai Azimi, said that if Pakistan doesn’t remove the restrictions, the traders will use substitute paths to transit their goods.

“We have yet to realize why Pakistan has stopped our containers in Karachi. The policy is unclear and so are the existing restrictions,” he said.

Earlier, Pakistan had stopped more than 200 types of goods from being imported to Afghanistan

This article was first published in Tolo News, Afghanistan