A Taliban official in northern Afghanistan says Afghan coal will now be exported to Uzbekistan rather than Pakistan under new trade arrangements.

Haji Zaid, spokesperson for the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh, said Uzbekistan will in return supply Afghanistan with high-quality cement and pharmaceuticals.

The shift comes as border closures and the suspension of trade with Pakistan push the Taliban to expand commercial ties with regional partners, particularly Iran and Uzbekistan. The Taliban have previously said Afghan agricultural products will be exported to Central Asia, South Asia and Europe via Uzbekistan through air corridors.

Earlier, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs urged Afghan traders to seek alternative routes for trade and transit.

The Taliban-run Ministry of Finance has claimed that the halt in trade with Pakistan has had “no negative impact” on Afghanistan’s overall trade volume and that customs revenues remain unaffected. The ministry said it would fully support traders in strengthening commercial links through alternative routes.

Following rising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad and the closure of key border crossings, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported on 11 November that the month-long shutdown of the Torkham crossing had caused more than 4.5 billion dollars in losses to the economies of both countries.

Economist Reza Farzam said the Taliban’s assertion that the suspension of trade with Pakistan has had no impact on Afghanistan is misleading, arguing that the country currently has no immediate alternatives to its main trade routes.