Concerns voiced over terrorist attacks on border and transit trade

KARACHI Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance,

Mian Zahid Hussain said that terrorists have started targeting border and transit trade, resulting in heavy losses to the exporters and importers.

Security of transit cargo should be ensured; otherwise, this sector will be ruined like other sectors of the economy, he warned.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that after targeting the trucks and trailers coming from Pakistan to Afghanistan and vice versa, now the trade between India and Afghanistan is also being targeted.

He said that repeated attacks on trucks and trailers in the border region could seriously affect Pakistan’s trade with Central Asian states as kidnappings and beatings of truck drivers have become routine, which is affecting confidence in the business community.

He said that the business of thousands of Pakistanis is related to transit trade and border trade. Attacks on cargo affect the movement of goods, increase business costs, and cause delays.

Mian Zahid Hussain further said that Afghanistan is a developing country, surrounded by Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and China, and due to the absence of a seaport, it has to trade through Pakistan or Iran.

Apart from Iran, the Wagah border has to be used for trade with India. The economy of this country is weak, but the transport system is better, and now the situation of trade procedures, customs, etc., has also improved, but its trade is facing threats from terrorists.

He noted that cargo clearance in Pakistan is slow, and traders are also being harassed by government officials, which should be noticed.

Mian Zahid further said that the government should ensure the safety of the lives and property of the people involved in the transit trade and compensate them for their losses.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023