ISLAMABAD: Representatives of traders’ community of Pakistan and Afghanistan are desirous expanding the jurisdiction of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) beyond Afghanistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan signed the APTTA 2010 on October 28, 2010 and this agreement replaced the previous Transit Trade Agreement of 1965. The APTTA 2010 was operationalized on June 12, 2011.
Under the pressure and demand of the traders’ representative body of both the neighbouring countries, Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PAJCCI), the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is deliberating on the ways and means to meet this demand.
With 26 -point agenda and vision for promotion of Pak-Afghan transit, the PAJCCI is the representative body of traders of both the countries. A well-placed source at MoC told this scribe that PAJCCI had taken up the issue of expansion of jurisdiction of APTTA beyond Afghanistan on several occasion with the Minister of Commerce. “PAJCCI is of the view point that missing direct connectivity via air or land routes hamper business community significantly so if Tajikistan comes under fold of APTTA, then connectivity on regional grounds will be assured concretely,” said the source..
The source further added that traders’ body had been advocating for Regional Trading Block: Pakistan – Afghanistan – CARs” and emphasizing upon the importance of Regional Integration, strategic position of Pakistan & usage of CAREC Corridor for greater sustainability of the region whereby Afghanistan is the “hub” to link in the past.
The PAJCCI, the source said that also demanded of the emphasized on export houses, border liaison committees, visa facilitation and TIR Carnet utilization across the region. It is pertinent to mention here that at the platform of PAJCCI, traders of both the countries have held several sessions on issues pertaining to better Border Manager & Refugee Protection, the custom rules & regulations and the regional economic importance and connectivity of Central Asian countries with Afghanistan & Pakistan.
It is pertinent to note here that the trade volume, after the operationalising of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement 2010, registered a growth when compared with the same period of last year. Meanwhile, exports and imports to Afghanistan during the period of July-September 2011 also registered an increase of 65 percent and 39 percent respectively
