Curbs on exports to Afghanistan removed

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had earlier banned exports, citing high prices, unchecked smuggling.

ISLAMABAD: After a strict directive from Islamabad, all restrictions on livestock and poultry exports to Afghanistan through the Torkham border have been removed by the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa government.

The curbs had been in place for the last many weeks, an official told The Express Tribune. Prior to the directive, the federal government had also rejected the provincial government’s plea to cancel export permits issued to exporters, said the source.

“Don’t obstruct trade and ensure the safe and smooth shipment of goods to and from Afghanistan,” the instruction said. The Pak-Afghan trade deal in July 2010 demanded that the provincial government facilitate uncomplicated import and export between the two neighbours, said the letter which contained the directive for the provincial government.

However, the federal government has allowed the province to develop a comprehensive mechanism to ensure that the trade policy is not misused by unauthorised officials. It also allowed the province to take steps to protect the interests of the local populace.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home Secretary Arbab Arif said that he has convened a meeting of relevant officials for next week to develop the policy. However, he refused to answer more questions, saying “I am not authorised to give you details.”

The provincial government had, under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code, banned the export of livestock to Afghanistan. It had also stopped traders from purchasing animals and poultry from Peshawar to be exported to Afghanistan. The provincial government had built its case on the plea that export and smuggling had caused an acute shortage of animals and poultry in Peshawar and other cities. The deficiency had caused constant increases in prices of animals in the province, said the province to the federation. However, the Peshawar High Court (PHC), after hearing petitions filed by affected individuals, had already struck down the ban.

The PHC verdict had prompted the provincial government to ask the federation to cancel all licences issued after the Pak- Afghan trade deal. It also asked Islamabad to enforce a ban on livestock exports for the time being.

K-P Minister for Livestock Haji Hidayatullah, who had earlier raised the issue, also demanded a new export policy for Afghanistan. “Islamabad should review the policy and the future policy should be chalked out in consultation with the provincial government,” the minister said. The trade policy is also being misused by the smugglers, he alleged. The minister told the media that the policy allowed the export of 253,000 animals to Afghanistan but the number of animals exported was much higher in reality.

The existing policy was framed before the floods and the situation has changed now, he argued. “The export [of animals] should be banned till the development of a new policy,” he emphasised.

The minister, while pointing out the large-scale smuggling of animals to Afghanistan from different parts of tribal areas, also said that there existed a need for an extraordinary increase in checkposts to curb smuggling.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.