ISLAMABAD: Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that efforts through track-II diplomatic channel were underway to restore trade with Afghanistan.
He suggested viewing the prevailing tension and trade differently because trade volume with Afghanistan had increased due to Afghan Transit Trade Agreement.
Friendship Gate remained closed for fifth consecutive day on Tuesday at Pak-Afghan border at Chaman in Balochistan. It also blocked the two-way trade activities between both the countries.
In this context, Minister for Commerce in a special talk to Customs Today in Parliament House prior to the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce meeting said that option of keeping the tension and trade apart had been in practice with India as trade activities were continuing with India through Wagah, Line of Control (LoC) and Karachi despite severe tension over a number of outstanding issues.
Later briefing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Minister said that he said that trade with Afghanistan had been halted due to closure of gate at Chaman crossing point. However, if issues with Afghanistan remained unresolved, then Pakistan will explore option of Chinese and Tajikistan to have trade access to Central Asian Republics (CARs).
He said that he had convened a meeting of Textile Board to analyze reasons and factors behind declining exports of textile because the government had already met all the demands of textile exporters.
He further maintained that reduction in textile exports was due to lowering demand of textile products in the international market. Moreover, issues pertaining to negative lists of trade goods, lesser variety of value-addition as well as lack versatility of our textile products do exist and hampered increase in textile exports.
To a question about presence of sugar stocks in the country, Minister observed that sugar stocks were present in sufficient quantity so there was no shortage of sugar in national markets. But recent increase in sugar prices was not due to ban on sugar exports because ban on sugar exports produced positive results and national markets did not witness any kind of sugar shortage in the holy month of Ramadan.
