PESHAWAR: Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan convened in Peshawar on Saturday to discuss the challenges hampering smooth bilateral trade and commerce in the region.
The Pak-Afghan liaison committee meeting, held at the Model Customs Collectorate, was chaired by the Director of the Directorate of Transit Trade, Arbab Qaiser Hameed.
Various members of the Pak-Afghan Liaison Committee, including Director of the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, former SVP Sarhad Chamber Engr Manzoor Elahi, President of Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, VP of Frontier Custom Agents Association, Imtiaz Ahmad Ali, Commercial Attache Afghan Consulate, Waheedullah Himmat, and Deputy Attache Hameed Fazil Khel, were in attendance.
During the meeting, Sarhadi highlighted that the inspection of goods by different departments was causing delays in the clearance of containers, causing significant problems for businessmen. He also raised concerns about the extended clearance time at the Karachi sea port, which results in demurrage and detention charges.
Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Despite a notification regarding Cross Tuffing of containers in Karachi, the decision is not yet implemented, and containers are taking a lot of time to reach Afghanistan, resulting in additional detention charges, he added.
The participants of the meeting demanded permission for the transportation of Afghan Transit trade goods in the railway system and requested approval for filing of GD at Azakhel Dry Port to enable custom clearing agents in KP to continue their business.
In response to the demands made in the meeting, the Director of Transit Trade, Arbab Qaiser Hameed, stated that he is well aware of the challenges faced by the business community. He assured the participants of his full cooperation and emphasized that decisions would be made with mutual coordination and consultation.
The meeting was viewed as a significant step towards identifying and addressing issues that hinder the promotion of bilateral trade and commercial activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
