Afghanistan shifts trade to Iran route to avoid Pakistan closures

KABUL: Landlocked Afghanistan is leaning more heavily on trade routes through Iran and Central Asia to reduce dependence on Pakistan, officials said, as tension between the neighbors escalates, with their border closed in recent weeks. Afghanistan’s reliance on Pakistan’s ports has long given Islamabad leverage to press Kabul over Pakistani militants sheltering across the border. But Afghanistan is increasingly making use of Iran’s concessions to shift freight to its Indian-backed port of Chabahar, bypassing Pakistan and avoiding recurring border and transit disruptions.

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