Smooth bilateral trade: Afghan CG agrees to make joint efforts

PESHAWAR: Consul General of Afghan Consulate Peshawar Hafiz Mohibullah Shakir has agreed to make joint efforts to solve the problems faced in Pak-Afghan transit trade by removing the obstacles.

This he said during a meeting held at the Afghan Consulate with businessmen dealing in Pak-Afghan trade.

Coordinator Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, former senior vice president SCCI Engineer Manzoor Elahi, Director Transport Afghan Consulate Syed Muhammad Faiz, Former Deputy Commercial Attache and Dr Hameed Fazil Khel were also present.

Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi who is also the President of Frontier Customs Agents Association (FCAA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa apprised the meeting about different issues faced by business community, traders, industrialists, exporters, transporters including restoration of Afghan document Ilam-o-Khabar, establishment of liaison committee between the two countries and gave various suggestions.

He said that in the recent past, one-year permission was granted for Temporary Admission Documents (TAD) for transport without the need of passport and visa wherein Afghan transit trade trucks have not been included.

Its need of the hour to give equal opportunities in Afghan transit trade as are given in bilateral trade between the two countries, Zia demanded.

On this occasion, Engineer Manzoor Elahi said that presently soapstone, coal, cotton and other goods are coming from Afghanistan in a large number of Afghan and Pakistani trucks, while in Pakistani trucks the goods that come are stopped for one week.

While Afghan consulate officials were informed about the transport related issues, especially the unnecessary unregistered checking points at the Torkham border and the incidents of harassment of the Afghan transporters in various ways.

Despite the orders to load in local containers through cross-toughening in Karachi, the implementation could not be done, due to which the Afghan businessmen have to pay detention charges of millions of rupees, they added.

Measures should be taken at the government level to remove the obstacles faced in regional trade, including Afghanistan, Zia insisted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024