Pakistan's strained ties with three of its four neighbours have effectively shut most of its land borders to trade and travel, imposing substantial economic costs — particularly on border communities — according to a report by The Friday Times cited on Wednesday by IANS and Nation Press. Trade and travel links with India remain suspended, commercial activity with Afghanistan has been significantly disrupted, and links with Iran have also suffered amid regional security concerns and sanctions-related pressures, the report said. With India to the east and Afghanistan and Iran to the west all disrupted, Pakistan is left with meaningful land connectivity mainly through its northern frontier with China, along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route.

The closures bite hardest in the border regions. The report notes that Pakistan previously ran a trade surplus with Afghanistan, and that closing the border with its western neighbour has made things difficult for the trading communities of both countries. Pakistan-Afghanistan trade fell 74 percent to $358 million (yaani about 35.8 crore US dollars) in the 2025-26 financial year, down from $1.3 billion (yaani about 130 crore US dollars) the year before, according to Pakistan's Trade Development Authority figures reported by Dawn and Khaama Press. The Torkham crossing has been closed since October 12, 2025, following deadly clashes, and other crossings including Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan and Angoor Adda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Chaman in Balochistan, have also remained closed to commercial traffic.

Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated sharply after New Delhi revoked the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, and since then direct trade and most travel links have remained suspended, IANS reported. The absence of normal cross-border connectivity has also curtailed commerce, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, the report said, warning that the degree of frontier closure is exceptional even by South Asian standards and is inflicting disproportionate damage on manufacturers, transport companies, agricultural traders and communities dependent on cross-border commerce. Sources: IANS via Hi India — Pakistan's border closures strain economy and connectivity (Oct 21, 2026); Nation Press — Pakistan border closures with India, Afghanistan, Iran strain trade and economy (Oct 21, 2026); VIF Neighbourhood News Digest citing Dawn and Khaama Press (Oct 21, 2026).