News
Monday, July 19, 2010
Pakistan denies India land transit route to AfghanistanPakistan, Afghanistan sign transit trade deal
* Afghanistan will have opportunity to export to India through Wahga, Pakistan to have access to Afghan territory for exports to Central Asia
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan reached an understanding on Sunday on all major issues related to transit trade, as Pakistan denied allowing a land transit trade route to India.
The broad-based record note was signed on Sunday evening at the Prime Minister’s House in the presence of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The note said, “Pakistan and Afghanistan hope that the resolution of all outstanding matters relating to the finalisation of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) will help in the early signing of the agreement, after completion of legal processes from both sides.”
Access: The two sides agreed that no Indian export to Afghanistan will be allowed through Wahga, however, Afghanistan would have the opportunity to export to India. Reciprocally, Pakistan would be able to export its goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan.
The agreement thus signed would be an important milestone in the development of Pak-Afghan trade and economic relationship and would benefit both sides.
The note, signed by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Faheem, and Afghan Minister for Commerce and Industries Dr Anwarul Haq Ahady, mentions that trucks from Afghanistan would be allowed to carry Afghan transit export cargo on designated routes to Pakistani seaports, as well as the Wahga border.
Afghan trucks, on return, will be permitted to carry goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan under the same expeditious procedures and conditions as Pakistani transport units.
It was also decided that all Afghan transit goods would be exported in containers of international specifications.
For a period of three years, the cargo would be allowed to be transported in internationally acceptable and verifiable standards of seal-able trucks, while oversize and bulk cargo, which is not imported in container-shiploads, would be transported in open trucks or other transport units.
It was also agreed that perishable goods in transit would be transported in open trucks or other transport units.
Drivers and cleaners would be allowed to enter and exit the two countries on permits identifiable by biometric devices installed at all such points. It was also agreed that an Arbitrator Tribunal would be set up bilaterally.
In case of a failure to agree on a common name of a third arbitrator, two names of non-nationals and non-residents would be proposed by each side and the third arbitrator would be selected by drawing lots from the four proposed names. To tackle the issue of unauthorised trade, it has been agreed that tracking devices will be installed on all transport units and a mechanism for custom-custom information sharing will also be established.
In this context, it has also been agreed that financial guarantees, equal to the amount of import levies of Pakistan, have to be deposited by authorised brokers or custom clearing agents to check illegal trade and these deposits will be released once the goods exit the country.
In case the goods do not exit the country within the specified time, the guarantees will be cashed by custom authorities.
Moreover, the agreement to be signed will be subject to any other measures to be taken by APTTA. Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan is worth more than $1 billion. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk