Officials from the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) on Sunday said they are worried that once again border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be closed to traders amid rising tension among border guards on both sides of the Durand Line.

They said government should take immediate action to prevent any possible border closure.

“Border closure is not in favor of either country and the Afghan government needs to take action to prevent any such scenario,” said Tawfiq Davari, ACCI’s deputy head.

However, according to Article 24 of the business and transit agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan, neither country has the right to close trade routes. Article 5 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Tariffs and Traders also states that all members of the organization have an obligation to keep its trade routes open to other members of the organization. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are members of the WTO.

ACCI officials also said according to the Geneva Water Convention and the United Nations, Afghanistan has the right to prevent the closure of its borders with Pakistan.

“The lack of capacity in government departments is one of the main problems that we face when there is conflict. We should have more professional employees to help us defend our rights,” the International Chamber of Commerce’s country director Abdul Qadir Bahman said.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) meanwhile said any border closure by Pakistan is against local and international laws and against WTO agreements. He said, Afghanistan will respond according to the conventions.

“We will use all possible ways to resolve the problems and if the borders are closed by Pakistan, we will take action in this regard,” said Mohammad Qurban Haqjo, the acting deputy minister for commerce at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Earlier this year, Pakistan closed its border crossings with Afghanistan which resulted in heavy financial losses for Afghan businessmen.

Afghanistan complained however to the WTO about this. Eventually after a month, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped in and ordered the crossings to be reopened.