The four-nation Asian transit trucking service launch has once again been postponed without fixing the new date, diplomatic sources disclosed here on Saturday.
The transit arrangement agreed to between Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgstan was to be officially launched at Almaty, the former capital of Kazakh Republic from Thursday next.
The postponement has this time agreed to at the suggestion of China, which suggested a second look at the main points of agreement, like the number of permits each state will issue annually and also the licensing fee members of the quadrilateral arrangement will charge.
The signatories had agreed to do keep the arrangement toll-free for the time being.
After years of wrangling, the four nations had finally come to an agreement at their assembly in Islamabad last December on the number of trucks each state will ply on the routes that will converge on to the Indus Highway in Pakistan and terminate at Karachi Seaport.
This arrangement would cut short the distances Kyrgstan, Kazakhstan and western Chinese regions have to the international waterways for their export and import trades.
They had agreed to a launch date of December 22 last year but it was later postponed to March 11 because of the heavy snows and mudslides in the Karakoram ranges.
Now as the Pakistani delegation, led by its Communications Minister Senator Ahmed Ali, was to fly to Almaty, Beijing suggested another adjournment urging the four nations to review the condition of roads and maintenance and other facilities along the proposed route.
Pakistani officials, who were satisfied with the conditions on the KKH (Karakorum Highway but commonly known as the Silk Road), hope it will be a short adjournment and very soon the transit traffic will start operations.
At present the point of convergence of nearly 800 cargo trucks from Pakistan and its three partners in the Transit Agreement will be Karachi but later when facilities at Gawadar are developed the routes and destinations will be re-charted.
But much will depend on the situation and road conditions in Afghanistan.
Gawadar will also provide another route to through Iran for trade between Turkey and Pakistan and India as well as the international markets and the Central Asian states bordering the Caspian, Black and Aral seas.
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