Trade problems irk Afghan businessmen

Diplomat calls for permanent solution to the issue.

ISLAMABAD:

Afghan traders are still facing difficulties in timely clearance of imported goods at the Karachi port. These delays sometimes cost them more than the actual price of the goods, Izhar-ul-Haq Ahadi, the commercial attaché at the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad told The Express Tribune,

Afghan authorities have still not received any information on the release of nearly 3,000 Afghan containers held at the Karachi port although Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had ordered the Federal Board of Revenue to release the containers within 10 days on January 1.

These instructions were issued at a meeting in Islamabad between members of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) and high-ranking government officials. The Afghan delegation also informed the prime minister about challenges faced by the bilateral business relationship.

“Afghan traders often face problems when they clear their goods at the Karachi port,” said Ahadi, and underlined the need for a permanent solution to the issue to boost trade between the two countries.

Insurance guarantees in Pakistan for products imported by Afghan traders can cause further delays. Ahadi said both governments had agreed in the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) on the insurance guarantee but there were still some problems in its implementation and in the release of insurance money.

The diplomat added that often the travel documents submitted by the traders are also not accepted in Pakistan.

Afghan trucks cannot deliver goods at the Wagah border as banks in Pakistan do not offer guarantees to these containers. Afghan banks had also been reluctant to provide such guarantees, one of the main hurdles to the transit-trade agreement noted Ahadi.

People familiar with the developments said after refusal from Pakistani banks, the Afghan government began to issue guarantee letters (accepted by Pakistan) to its importers.

Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan had inked the APPTA in 2010 and made it operational in 2011. The accord which was signed in Islamabad in the presence of US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton on July 18, 2010 replaced the 1965 bilateral trade agreement.

This new agreement allowed Afghan trucks to transport exports to India via Pakistan.

The current volume of bilateral trade stands at $2.5 billion and both sides are determined to increase this to $5 billion in the coming years.

Ahadi stressed the railway line from Torkham border should be extended to Jalalabad and from Quetta to Kandahar.

Pakistan and Afghanistan will now issue six-month multiple visas for traders recommended by the PAJCCI. Both sides will also issue one-year multiple visas for prominent businessmen.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.