Joint chamber concerned over reduction in Afghanistan-Pakistan trade

Senior Vice President of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over drastic reduction in the bilateral trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.

In a press statement, Sarhadi who is also Executive Member Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry blames enforcement of two percent Infrastructure Development Cess by Khyber Government on export cargo as one of the reason for recent dip in trade between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics, Pakistani media reported.

He said in the recent past the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan was around 2.5 billion dollars which has shrunk to mere 700 million dollars.

Citing other reasons behind this plunge in trade volume, Zia said it includes frequent closure of Pak-Afghan border at Torkhem border, Temporary Admission Document, implementation of ban on Pak-Afghan trade including 100 percent bank guarantee, inclusion of 14 items into negative list, enforcement of 10 percent processing fees, restrictions at Karachi port causing holding of more than 300 containers of transit trade.