Pakistan has suffered another major setback economically and diplomatically. The Taliban, which is in power in the neighboring country Afghanistan, has completely banned the import of medicines from Pakistan. An order has been issued by the Taliban Finance Ministry in this regard and Afghan businessmen have been instructed to explore business options from other countries instead of Pakistan. This tough decision of Afghanistan is being seen in favor of India, with which it can do business in future.

According to the report of Tolo News, the Afghanistan Finance Ministry has also made it clear that strict action will be taken against those smuggling drugs into the country and the seized goods will be destroyed. The concerned authorities will also stop the movement of goods through smuggling routes. Also, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment says that better results can be seen from this decision, which include promoting domestic production, providing new medicines in place of poor quality medicines in the market and finding alternative routes of import.

Hikmatullah, MD of a pharmacy company in Kabul, told Tolo News that in many cases the medicines manufactured in the country are better in terms of quality than the medicines imported from Pakistan. He says that there is a need to run awareness campaigns to win the trust of the people. Hikmatullah said, “Some people used to bring packets of medicines and ask for Pakistani medicines. They are not aware that the medicines made in our country (Afghanistan) are of better quality.”

The Public Health Ministry has already talked about meeting the demand for domestic medicines in Afghanistan. On November 12, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had instructed the Finance Ministry that medicines being imported from Pakistan should be stopped within three months and had given instructions not to impose customs duty on them.