For decades, Pakistan did what others would not. It opened its doors to Afghan families running from war, hunger, and fear, strangers who were treated like kin. The decision came not from strategy, but from the heart, from faith and shared humanity. Yet, after forty long years, that open door has come at a cost. The warmth of generosity has given way to exhaustion, as Pakistan now struggles under the weight of economic loss and rising insecurity.

All across Pakistan, frustration hangs in the air. In Faisalabad’s noisy textile mills and Quetta’s bustling bazaars, one question echoes: How much longer must we carry this weight? The economy is faltering, jobs are vanishing, and smuggling has crippled honest businesses. The patience of ordinary Pakistanis — once vast and forgiving — is now wearing dangerously thin.

When Pakistan signed the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA), the goal was simple: to help Afghanistan recover by giving it free access to Pakistani ports. But the policy was exploited. Instead of reaching Kabul, truckloads of electronics, tyres, and textiles slipped back across the border into Pakistan — tax-free. Local industries couldn’t survive the onslaught of cheap, untaxed imports. What was meant to uplift Afghanistan ended up hollowing out Pakistan’s own........

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