KABUL: Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan increased substantially, from $0.83 billion in 2006 to $2.1 billion in 2013. It was expected to reach $5 billion per annum this year but the emerging situation suggests that this might not be possible.
According to the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), already there has been a decline by near 40 percent in imports from Pakistan compared to the same period last year.
Insecurity – for which an overwhelming majority of Afghans blame Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – is being blamed for hindering economic growth. Following a string of deadly bomb blasts in the Afghan capital Kabul in mid-August, citizens launched a self-styled boycott of Pakistani goods.
Social media users posted videos and comments denouncing Pakistani goods and showing products being destroyed. This was followed by similar announcements from trade organizations, ruling out imports from Pakistan in the future.
Naqibullah Safi, spokesperson for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries (APJCCI), confirmed that the boycott had made an impact on trade between the two countries.
He said a number of importers had turned to other regional countries following the August attacks.
According to analysts, Iran and Turkmenistan topped the list of alternative suppliers.
Mohib Sharif, an economist based in Kabul told Anadolu Agency that the international deal over Iran’s nuclear program had also paved the way for further growth between Tehran and Kabul.
He said bilateral trade between Iran and Afghanistan – currently worth just below $1 billion – was likely to rise following the decline in trade with Pakistan.
Earlier in August, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) and two agreements during the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow’s visit to Kabul.
To consolidate ties with this energy-rich Central Asian country, Afghanistan’s finance minister, Eklil Hakimi, travelled to the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.
“The trip was full of achievements; headway has been made on the transfer of electricity, gas pipelines, fiber optic and trade ties,” Hakimi told journalists on Saturday.
