The brakes were first put on the Spin Boldak market when cross-border violence with neighbouring Pakistan prompted the near-total closure of the frontier in October. "When the border was closed with Pakistan, we also exported via (Iran's) Bandar Abbas port with many difficulties... but there was still a way," said Abdul Baqi Bina, deputy head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment. Vehicle parts from Japan and elsewhere that used to reach Spin Boldak overland through Pakistan were rerouted through the United Arab Emirates, a longer and more costly path but one which at least allowed work to continue.
Afghan men working at a auto-parts shop in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province © Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP
But then the Middle East war broke out in February, which Bina said "created very difficult problems for Afghanistan".The conflict sparked massive disruption to international trade through the Strait of Hormuz, and shipping companies have cautioned that restoring normal operations through the vital waterway will take time.The parts that reached Spin Boldak before the wars would be assembled to build new cars on site, or distributed nationwide for repairs. Asadullah, who only has one name, imported from Dubai and Japan and said the conflicts have "paralysed business" for months.
