Elian Peltier and Zia ur-Rehman
One of Peshawar’s largest markets in western Pakistan once bustled with thousands of Afghan-owned shops and carts, selling everything from deep-fried khajoor pastries to kitchen items and cricket gear.
But business has been cut by half, according to business owners, and the market’s alleys have become so sparse that shoppers can walk freely along its stalls without elbowing through crowds. And aid shipments urgently needed in Afghanistan are piling up at Pakistani ports.
“Afghans are afraid of going outside,” said Hameed Ullah Ayaz, an Afghan owner of 12 bakeries in Peshawar.
Amid the deepest erosion of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in decades, the Pakistani government has cut off cross-border trade. It is aiming to punish the Taliban administration for failing to rein in affiliated militants who attack Pakistan and find refuge on the other side of the border.
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