KARACHI: At least 75 per cent decrease has been witnessed in trade activities on the route of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) during last three to four years.
This was revealed by a senior FBR officer while sharing his views to Customs Today at his office. Commenting on the situation, he said that there was a major cut in trade activities has been observed on ATT route for last three to four years.
Elaborating the factors involved in declining the trade on ATT route, the FBR officer said that the lack of security on the route and high charges of ports and shipping lines were affecting the trade activities badly.
Responding to a query, he holds ports authorities and shipping companies responsible for curtailing ATT trade, adding that the Pakistan Customs was facilitating the traders within its available resources.
He further informed that the traders of Afghanistan were now switching towards Iran and using Iranian routes for trade and this move of Afghan traders was definitely putting adverse impact on the revenue.
Replying to another question, he urged the authorities concerned of ports and shipping to decrease their charges to boost the trade activities on Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) route.
