PESHAWAR: The Government of Afghanistan imports 70% of its food through Pakistan which predicts the economic bow of Afghanistan towards Pakistan.
Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Senior Vice-President of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said while talking to Customs Today on Saturday about the losses to the economics of both countries from the closure of Torkham border.
The Government of Pakistan has assorted fines on halted cargo along the frontier which amount almost Rs2.5billion to three billion ($25m to $30m), he added.
About 2,000 cargo containers headed for Afghanistan languished in Pakistan, he said, urging the Pakistani government to waive off various charges.
He further said the Torkham crossing is considered ” a gate of friendship” while the annual bilateral trade will reach $5billion (Rs522.5 billion) by 2018. On the other side, KP Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also hoped for the speedy recovery of trade activities between the two important trade partners and asked for compensation for the traders.
The General Secretary KPCCI termed it an efficient source for improving exports and imports as Pakistan already shares a business worth billions which implies better trade activities in the near future.
