{
  "id": 18487338,
  "title": "Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah exits Afghanistan after 20 years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/pakistans-bank-alfalah-exits-afghanistan-after-20-years",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-06T10:33:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40447760/pakistans-bank-alfalah-exits-afghanistan-after-20-years"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bank Alfalah Limited, a Pakistani bank, has finalized the sale and transfer of its banking operations in Afghanistan to Ghazanfar Bank, effectively ending its presence in the country after more than two decades. The transaction, approved by the State Bank of Pakistan and Da Afghanistan Bank, was completed on November 5th, 2026, according to a filing made by Bank Alfalah to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Following the completion, all banking activities and associated assets and liabilities of Bank Alfalah in Kabul and Herat branches were handed over to Ghazanfar Bank.\n\nEstablished in 2005, Bank Alfalah opened its initial branch in Kabul and subsequently expanded to Herat, providing both conventional and Islamic banking services. In December 2025, the bank's Board of Directors accepted a non-binding offer from Ghazanfar Bank for the acquisition of its Afghan operations, contingent upon a successful due diligence process and approvals from regulatory bodies in both nations.\n\nIn January 2026, both the State Bank of Pakistan and the Central Bank of Afghanistan granted preliminary approvals for Ghazanfar Bank to initiate the due diligence process concerning Bank Alfalah's Afghan operations. This approval paved the way for Ghazanfar Bank to proceed with its due diligence, ultimately leading to the successful conclusion of the transaction on November 5th, 2026.",
  "summary": "Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) has completed the sale and transfer of its banking operations in Afghanistan to Ghazanfar Bank, marking BAFL’s full exit from Afghanistan after over two decades of banking presence. The development came following regulatory approvals from Pakistan and Afghanistan, BAFL said in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday “We are pleased to inform…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}