Several tribal elders and residents of Paktika province say that local Taliban officials, under Pakistani military and border pressure, have decided to evacuate the Angoor Adda commercial and border market in Barmal district and relocate it to a more distant location. They say the decision came after repeated border tensions in the area.
According to residents of Barmal district, Taliban officials informed shopkeepers and investors on Thursday, November 5, that the move was being made because of security challenges. Local sources say the area of “Cheshma-e Shamshuddin,” between Barmal and Shkin districts, has been designated as the new site of the market, and construction work there has also begun.
Residents of Paktika call the Taliban’s order to evacuate the Angoor Adda market suspicious and claim there may be a secret deal between the group and Pakistan. According to them, despite the Taliban’s sweeping claims about fighting Pakistani forces, they have retreated in the face of Pakistani military pressure. They suspect that the order to shut down the market may be part of secret, unwritten agreements between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Residents of Barmal district and neighboring districts have also opposed the Taliban’s decision. They stress that the Angoor Adda market has been operating for several decades and that they have invested millions of afghanis in building extensive commercial infrastructure there. According to them, shutting down the market and moving it to another area will cause them to lose their investments.
Haji Gulwazir, a resident of Barmal district, says: “Relocating this market inflicts heavy financial losses on the people and weakens their economy. There must be calm in the region so that people can continue their activities as they did in the past.”
Another resident of the Shkin area of Paktika province, who did not want his identity disclosed, criticizes what he calls the Taliban’s weakness in the face of Pakistan and the possibility of a secret deal between the group and Pakistani officials. He stresses that relocating the Angoor Adda market effectively paves the way for handing over part of Afghanistan’s territory to Pakistan.
He says: “This action makes no sense at all. Why should we not carry out our activities in a place that belongs to our own people? Without a doubt, after the people evacuate the market, Pakistani militias will occupy this area. The Taliban abandoned their outposts a while ago.”
According to the claims of residents, Pakistani forces have pressured the Taliban to shut down the market near the border and not allow it to reopen. They say the Taliban, without any reaction to this pressure, have in turn pressured people to invest in a new market located at least 10 kilometers away from the current site.
It is worth noting that about a week ago, local sources also confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that Taliban fighters had earlier left their outposts in these areas, and that their subsequent attempts to redeploy were met with an exchange of fire with the Pakistani army.
The Angoor Adda area, which connects Paktika province to Pakistan’s South Waziristan, has been one of the sensitive border points and a center of tensions in recent years. The crossing and the market in this area have also been opened and closed several times in the past because of security concerns.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
فشار پاکستان بر طالبان؛ بازار مرزی انگور اده پکتیکا تخلیه و به نقطهای دورتر منتقل میشود
