October 8, 2020
In a fresh positive overture, but this time directly from the Pakistan’s Parliament, facilitating Pak-Afghan Transit Trade, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Asad Qaiser, has directed the Customs department to clear the stuck-up containers at Torkham and Chaman border crossings. These directives came, while the Speaker was presiding the Executive Committee meeting of Pak-Afghan Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG), overseeing the implementation of trade and visa policy decisions. The clearance of the containers, instructed to be carried out within a week’s time, is aimed at easing the scanning procedure at the border crossings as well as hastening the pace of the transit trade with Afghanistan.
During the meeting, the Executive Committee was also apprised of the current limit of average clearance of 1,870 containers, per day. This is expected to rise up to 2,000 in the near future, as per the officials of the National Logistic Cell (NLC). Official instructions were also given to the State Bank of Pakistan to ensure the opening up of banks’ branches at the Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan border crossings, in the wake of their upgradation as transit trade points. Whereas, the Bank of Khyber and National Bank of Pakistan already gearing up for the establishment of their respective branches.
Moreover, Pakistani authorities also to discontinue the stamping of goods, in transit to Afghanistan, with immediate effect. This would expediate the clearance process as well as mobility of the traffic. This was one of the major requests by the traders on both sides, as it caused unnecessary delay and distress.
Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) along with Afghan Studies Center have been highlighting these issues to the relevant authorities for quite some time, through different channels. It is hoped that in consequent meetings of the Executive Committee of Pak-Afghan Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG), more issues would be resolved amicably.
These positive steps come in tandem with the appreciation of Afghanistan as a favorable export destination and realization of its potential in this capacity. Moreover, the location of Afghanistan being at the cross-roads of Central and South Asia offers the best conduit for regional connectivity.
The author Tooba Altaf is an International Relations’ graduate, while working as a Researcher at Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad.
© Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
