Resolving Afghan trade issues

The old quarrel between Pakistan and Afghanistan over Afghan transit trade continues to generate annoyance in Kabul and worry in Islamabad. According to a report, Kabul is displeased with Islamabad for not facilitating export of its goods to Pakistan under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA), while the latter remains apprehensive about the related problem of smuggling.
Afghan officials had raised their concern at a meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) and joint Jirga a while ago. Both sides had agreed at the time that Pak-Afghan Joint Business Council should be made effective to identify areas of cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries, and that the Council would report its activities to JEC for improvement of trade.
They had also agreed to take steps for increasing Afghan exports to Pakistan, and the former was given the responsibility to identify exportable items for launching potential joint ventures with a view to encouraging the private sector in the two countries to invest in export-oriented industries.
Things have not moved at desired pace, which is obvious from the fact that a JEC meeting scheduled for the current month has been cancelled for unannounced reasons. Nonetheless, so far as identifying exportable items for starting potential joint ventures is concerned, a good beginning has already been made.
The two countries' fruit traders joined hands last month to export about 4800 tons, of which more than 300 tons of Afghan pomegranate has been shipped to various markets in South Asia, Middle East, Europe and South East Asia. The pomegranate season is almost over, but the activity is expected to go on with a variety of other fruits.
The linkages made in the process can also open up other areas of export-oriented joint ventures. Pakistan, needless to say, would be keen to forge joint ventures while it is fervently hoping to access the markets of the resource-rich Central Asian states via Afghanistan.
Even more importantly, the country hopes an early fruition of its dream to serve as a trade and transport corridor between Central Asia and markets in the east and the west via its newly built deep-sea port at Gwadar.
ATTA has its peculiar problems to blame for the difficulties it faces. Goods imported under the arrangement often end up in the Pakistani market either through leakage en route to the Afghan border or later through smuggling back into this country.
Which amounts to treading on many sensitive toes in the local business and manufacturing sector. Surely, those affected have been raising strong voices of protest to protect their business interests, influencing government policy. That seems to have adversely impacted genuine export-oriented Afghan trade as well.
The central issue, therefore, is smuggling associated with Afghan transit trade rather than resistance on the part of the government or the private sector to the import from our northern neighbour of goods for the local market or for onward transportation to other countries of the region and beyond.
It is imperative to ensure that the Afghan transit trade is tightly controlled on both sides of the border, and does not cause any worries to the Pakistani business community. Islamabad is said to have devised a new plan to facilitate import/export of Afghan trade through containerised cargo under rules that are aimed at strengthening documentation and curbing smuggling.
As per the plan, Pakistan customs officials would demand documents for merchandise specified under the ATTA Protocol, and verify the seals of containers carrying ATTA cargo at both the entry and exit points. It seems to be an effective response to the problem. Hopefully, it will be put into practice without any further let or hindrance.