Pak-Afghan transit trade pact to expire on Feb 11

ISLAMABAD:

The officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan governments will finalise the renewal of Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement by the end of the month which will expire on February 11.

The neighbouring country’s minister of commerce has written a letter to Pakistani officials in this regard.

In a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce chaired by Naveed Qamar, the officials of Ministry of Commerce briefed that two rounds of talks on the renewal of agreement have been held between the two countries.

It was said that issues on the operational side of the pact were resolved to a large extent.

The meeting was informed that the issue of collection of $1,000 from Pakistani containers in Afghanistan was also resolved to a large extent, while Afghan officials apprised the amount was probably being collected under the table. The officials from the neighbouring country assured to resolve the matter, it was added.

It was further told that shipping companies owed Rs7 billion in dues due to the coronavirus pandemic and they had requested a waiver of the amount.

A member from Customs told the meeting that scanners would be installed to scrutinize cargo delivering from the neighbouring country.

The committee called for a detailed briefing on the tariff policy in the upcoming meeting.