Laraib Nisar
With the regime change in Afghanistan and the following economic downfall, it was observed that the trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan surged, however, if we analyze the situation critically, it can be observed that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have significantly increased, while Pakistan’s imports from Afghanistan still remain meagre due to the numerous challenges posed to Afghan traders especially at the border crossing points.
The biggest challenge posed is the massive congestion at Torkham border crossing point leading to rotting of perishable items, as most of the imports from Afghanistan are fresh fruits. Moreover, problems like low scanning capacity, return of empty containers, delays in the issuance of Electronic Import Form by State Bank of Pakistan, and unregulated taxations by border officials also causing a sharp decline in imports from Afghanistan.
PM Imran Khan had hosted a two-day seminar titled ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Forum 2020,’ exploring opportunities to boost investment and trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October last year, to facilitate discussion on several themes including Pakistan-Afghanistan transit trade, improvement of bilateral trade, and investment opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, food and livestock, no practical implementation of the decided policies is observed so far. During the said seminar, the PM had interacted with a 17-member Afghan parliamentary delegation.
Most of the promises and assurances made by PM Imran Khan and other relevant trade officials remain unkept. For instance, it was decided at the meeting that scanning of cargo will be terminated at crossing points, cross stuffing of transit cargo will be allowed in Karachi, and demurrage & detention charges caused due to COVID-19 will be waived off, but unfortunately, no progress has been made in this regard till date.
The Afghan traders are still hopeful and are engaging with relevant government officials, policymakers, and civil society representatives to remind the Prime Minister about the promises he made for the facilitation of traders and improvement of trade between the two countries. Â
The Afghan traders say that PM Imran Khan’s efforts to urge the international community to support Afghan people in this difficult situation are ironic, because Pakistan itself is not assisting Afghanistan in any way and nothing is being done to resolve the issues which are impeding the bilateral and transit trade since a long time, said some traders on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, dozens of meetings and interactions have been conducted in the last decade to facilitate discussions and interactions about the enhancement of trade ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but no on-ground delivery of the commitments is seen yet. The crisis-struck Afghan traders who have been importing vegetables from Pakistan since a long time look forward to facilitation by their age-old trading partner. Efforts like increase in the number of scanners, and shifting the scanner away from zero-point, reducing the sales taxes on Afghan goods, and removing bureaucratic hindrances will eventually assist in reducing the problems faced by Afghan traders and help in the economic development of Afghanistan.
The author Laraib Nisar is a Defense and Strategic Studies’ graduate, working as a Program Coordinator at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad.
