Khurram briefs NA on measures to boost Pak-Afghan trade
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan Monday informed the National Assembly about the measures to boost trade with neighboring Afghanistan as part of the present government’s policy of shared prosperity.
“Both the countries are moving forward to boost trade and materialize the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani of a shared regional prosperity,” he said in a policy statement in the backdrop of his recent visit to Kabul. “We have proceeded further in light of the understanding reached between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during latter’s visit to Pakistan in November last year,” he added.
Dilating on the measures discussed during his recent visit to Afghanistan, the minister said that he met President Ghani and informed him about Pakistan’s steps to facilitate Afghan transit trade.
He said that Pakistan would facilitate Afghanistan with system-based shipments now instead of previous manual shipment and the scanning would now be reduced to 20 percent from previous 100 percent.
Moreover, 90 percent Afghan transit trade would now be cleared at Karachi within 24 to 48 hours and Pakistan would facilitate Afghan transport to carry goods to Pakistani ports and from there Pakistani goods to Afghanistan, he added.
He said that Pakistan Railways had also promised to run goods trains from July with 400 containers reaching Torkham and Chaman border with Afghanistan every week. About reciprocal steps by the Afghan government agreed during the minister’s visit to Kabul, he said that he was assured of removal of transit guarantees and tonnage fare on transportation of Pakistani goods to other countries.
The Afghan government would issue multiple visas to Pakistani businessmen and also lift ban on transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Pakistan through Afghanistan, he added.
He also mentioned to avoiding double taxation on Pakistani and Afghan goods that in future might be transported from Afghan to Pakistani markets and from Pakistani to Afghan markets. “The facility of multiple visas will be from both sides.”
He said that the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accorded the highest priority to boost regional economic cooperation and these measures were taken in the light of understandings reached during the Afghan President’s visit to Pakistan in last November.
He said in coming days there would be more confidence building measures between the two countries and the ports envisaged at Torkham and Chaman borders would be 21st Century ports.
He said a meeting of Pak-Afghan Joint Business Council would be held in Islamabad next month to discuss regional energy connectivity, including power supply to Pakistan from Tajikistan and the project of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline.
Khurram Dastgir expressed the hope that these measures would promote economic connectivity under the vision of shared prosperity of leadership from both the countries.
