Pak-Afghan Trade Facilitation Committee on the cards

Consul General of Taliban government in Peshawar, Hafiz Mohib Ullah has agreed on constitution of a Pak-Afghan Trade Facilitation Committee for removal of obstacles in visa issuance and resolution of problems hampering bilateral trade.

This agreement was reached during a meeting of Afghan Consul General with Vice President of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi. According to a press release on Monday, Sarhadi called on the Afghan diplomat and apprised him about problems being faced by businessmen, exporters and dealers of Afghan Transit Trade. Sarhadi, after discussing the problems faced by businessmen also presented some suggestions for solutions to it, the statement added.

He laid stress on joint efforts from both sides to tackle issues including a dearth of dollars in Afghan banks, documentation problems and other hurdles being faced on a daily basis by trading communities of both the countries.

Sarhadi also mentioned some problems in Transit Trade Agreement making the document as redundant. He added that 90 per cent work has been done on the agreement while 10 per cent is remaining, suggesting an idea for involving stakeholders from both the countries for giving their input for making APTTA operational.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2022.