Attari-Wagah border: Checkpost being upgraded for Rs2.6b
Indian commerce ministry to complete upgrade by February.
Checkposts at Attari-Wagah border will be upgraded by February 2012 at a cost of Rs2.6 billion (INR150 crore) to cope with the spurt of trade expected following Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to India by Pakistan, according to Indian newspaper Business Standard.
Senior officers in Indian Home Affairs Ministry says every day 200 trucks take goods to Pakistan while flow of import from other side is limited to 70-80 trucks but it could increase substantially once rules are changed in Pakistan, report stated on Monday.
“Our job is of a facilitator and to maintain security but there are other ministries involved in the process. We have been asked by the commerce ministry to finish upgrading international checkposts by February 2012 so we are expecting that flow of goods from Pakistan will rise after that. There are hurdles from Pakistan on MFN status but we expect them to be over soon,” said a senior Home Ministry officer.
A recent India visit of Pakistan traders and officials who met National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon agreed that infrastructure was inadequate and it was a valid complaint. Officials of Home Ministry also met their Pakistani counterparts to discuss urgent measures which must be taken.
According Home Ministry’s plan, these international checkposts will be a ‘sanitised zone’ which will have cargo terminals with adequate personnel from customs, x-ray scanners that could checks goods.
Indian Commerce Ministry estimates suggest that total trade between India and Pakistan stands at $2.6 billion for now but with adequate help from two governments this could be taken up to $6 billion by year 2014.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2012.