Border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sharply driven up the cost of essential goods in both countries, with tomatoes in Pakistan now priced at five times their usual rate since clashes erupted earlier this month.

The crossings have remained shut since October 11, after ground fighting and Pakistani airstrikes along their disputed 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) border left dozens dead on both sides, marking the worst violence since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

“All trade and transit have been blocked since the fighting erupted,” Khan Jan Alokozay, head of the Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce in Kabul, told Reuters on Thursday. “With each passing day, both sides are losing around $1 million.”

The two nations typically trade in fresh fruit, vegetables, minerals, m

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