Trade with Afghanistan comes to a halt
Federal Board of Revenue blocks goods at Karachi Port .
ISLAMABAD:
Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has come to a standstill after the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa imposed a ban on animal export, followed immediately by the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) decision to block over 10,000 Afghanistan-bound trucks at the Karachi Port, an official requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune.
Addressing the media last week, Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the government banned animal export in order to avoid shortage and increase in prices of red meat in the local market. “Export permit holders should purchase animals from Punjab or other provinces, but not from our province,” said Hussain.
A similar ban imposed earlier had been lifted following an order by the Peshawar High Court on a petition filed by a local trader.
The provincial government has also recommended the federal government to stop issuing permits for animal exports to Afghanistan without prior consent.
Meanwhile, the goods imported by Afghan traders under the transit trade agreement were being blocked by FBR officials at the Karachi Port for the past three months without any reason, said Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Group Senior Vice-President Abdul Hamid Gorwara.
Traders and customs clearing agents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have also launched a protest campaign in Peshawar against FBR’s refusal to release these trucks. “We have been left with no option but to launch the protest campaign,” Gorwara told The Express Tribune.
Hundreds of traders and customs clearing agents involved in Afghan transit trade will participate in the demonstrations seeking release of these goods, said Gorwara.
Gorwara added that many people had become unemployed due to the blockade while Afghan traders were suffering huge financial losses, as they had to pay heavy demurrage everyday. Until now, FBR has given no valid reason for stopping the trucks and has been saying that the goods will stay there for another few weeks.
An Afghan television channel TOLO quoted an official from the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying, “30 per cent of food items in the containers stranded at the Karachi Port has perished.” These included edible oil, sugar and tea which were exposed to high temperatures for over six months.
Afghan traders have to pay $200,000 to Pakistan on a daily basis, despite the fact that these goods had perished, said the chamber head. A delegation consisting of government and private sector representatives is currently in Pakistan to discuss trade challenges.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.
Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has come to a standstill after the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa imposed a ban on animal export, followed immediately by the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) decision to block over 10,000 Afghanistan-bound trucks at the Karachi Port, an official requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune.
Addressing the media last week, Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the government banned animal export in order to avoid shortage and increase in prices of red meat in the local market. “Export permit holders should purchase animals from Punjab or other provinces, but not from our province,” said Hussain.
A similar ban imposed earlier had been lifted following an order by the Peshawar High Court on a petition filed by a local trader.
The provincial government has also recommended the federal government to stop issuing permits for animal exports to Afghanistan without prior consent.
Meanwhile, the goods imported by Afghan traders under the transit trade agreement were being blocked by FBR officials at the Karachi Port for the past three months without any reason, said Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Group Senior Vice-President Abdul Hamid Gorwara.
Traders and customs clearing agents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have also launched a protest campaign in Peshawar against FBR’s refusal to release these trucks. “We have been left with no option but to launch the protest campaign,” Gorwara told The Express Tribune.
Hundreds of traders and customs clearing agents involved in Afghan transit trade will participate in the demonstrations seeking release of these goods, said Gorwara.
Gorwara added that many people had become unemployed due to the blockade while Afghan traders were suffering huge financial losses, as they had to pay heavy demurrage everyday. Until now, FBR has given no valid reason for stopping the trucks and has been saying that the goods will stay there for another few weeks.
An Afghan television channel TOLO quoted an official from the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying, “30 per cent of food items in the containers stranded at the Karachi Port has perished.” These included edible oil, sugar and tea which were exposed to high temperatures for over six months.
Afghan traders have to pay $200,000 to Pakistan on a daily basis, despite the fact that these goods had perished, said the chamber head. A delegation consisting of government and private sector representatives is currently in Pakistan to discuss trade challenges.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.