Business is at a standstill in Punjab, demand to open Wagah border, understand how much loss is being incurred

Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts of Punjab share borders with Pakistan. Trade between India and Pakistan continued through the Attari-Wagah border, but due to situations arising from time to time, trade between the two countries has been significantly affected. Now once again the demand for starting business through this route has started rising. MPs from Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) are demanding opening of this route. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) is going to hold ‘Open Border’ rally in Amritsar soon.

Aam Aadmi Party MP from Punjab Malvinder Singh Kang has demanded opening of Wagah Border to increase the income of farmers of North India. On Tuesday, he said in Parliament that farmers have been deprived of the profits due to the closure of Amritsar-Lahore route. He said that if this route is opened, the economic condition of farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Western Uttar Pradesh may change.

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Shiromani Akali Dal also demanded

Shiromani Akali Dal, the party which has ruled Punjab for a long time, is also demanding opening of this route. Party chief Sukhbir Badal said in a rally that due to the closure of the border, trade in the border area has been badly affected. He promised that if his government is formed in Punjab, he will open Wagah and Fazilka border for export of fruits, vegetables and other commodities to Central Asian countries. He said that with this export, Amritsar will become the center of international trade and the entire region will benefit from it.

There will be a big rally soon

Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has also demanded to start trade through Wagah Border. Party president Simranjit Singh Mann has announced a big ‘Open the Border’ rally at the Attari-Wagah border on March 28 to gather people. Simranjit Singh Mann said that he has asked farmers, traders and common people in Punjab to join this rally. He presented the benefits of the opening of this border in front of the media.

How much trade takes place through this route?

Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense. After the Pahalgam attack in 2025, the tension between India and Pakistan had increased significantly and this affected the ongoing trade between the two countries. Attari-Wagah Border is important for trade as it is 28 kilometers from Amritsar in Punjab and 24 kilometers from Lahore in Pakistan. This is the only land route for trade between the two countries. According to the report of Land Port Authority of India, trade through this route was Rs 4,370.78 crore in 2018-19, which decreased to Rs 2,257.55 crore in 2022-23. There was a jump in 2023-24 and the trade increased to Rs 3,886.53 crore. However, it stopped completely after the Pahalgam attack in 2025.

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What things were traded?

According to official reports, items like soybean, poultry feed, vegetables, red chilli, plastic granules and plastic yarn were exported from India through this route. Apart from this, straw reapers i.e. agricultural equipment were also sent to Pakistan from Punjab, which were important for the farmers there. Whereas dry fruits, dry dates, gypsum, cement, glass, rock salt and herbs were imported from Pakistan. Transporters, porters, shopkeepers, and small traders depended on this route.