The Commerce Ministry has started consultations with the stakeholders on the US-pushed Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), almost one month after signing the pact in Kabul, sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday.
The Commerce Ministry has initiated the consultative process with the stakeholders after the Prime Minister Secretariat expressed concerns over the Ministry's not interacting with the stakeholders, including the provinces.
"Yes, we consulted public stakeholders, including provinces, on November 22, 2010 in an effort to remove their concerns on the APTTA, signed by the Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim in Kabul on October 29, 2010 in the presence of Richard Holbrooke, special representative of President Obama for Afghanistan Pakistan," sources said, when contacted.
The governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) and Punjab had registered strong protests with the federal government for not taking them on board. Prime Minister Secretariat had questioned the Commerce Ministry for not taking provincial governments into confidence prior to finalisation of APTTA.
The Commerce Ministry argues that in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan and Rules of Business, 1973, the subject of transit trade falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce, and foreign policy is the subject of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another meeting with the private sector is expected within a couple of days in Islamabad aimed at assuring them that the business community's interests would not be compromised by the agreement, sources said. Most of the trade chambers, including KCCI and LCCI, have already rejected the APTTA, saying that the agreement would hurt the local industry, which is already in trouble due to inflated cost of production and war on terror.
"We are taking all stakeholders on board before the APTTA is presented before the Cabinet for ratification," sources added. According to them, the APPTA will be submitted to the Cabinet for endorsement as, without this, the pact cannot be implemented.
US embassy in Islamabad is also very active in persuading the Commerce Ministry for early implementation of the pact. Recently, the US embassy officials gave a presentation to the officials of different ministries in the committee room of the Commerce Ministry wherein they offered different services and equipment to minimise smuggling into Pakistan as a consequence of the APTTA, which is a major concern of the stakeholders.
According to official sources, Pakistan has agreed to allow duty-free transit facility to Afghan goods destined for India through Wahgah border. However, the Commerce Ministry has stated that it is a normal international practice. Contracting parties (Pakistan and Afghanistan) agree to grant temporary admission to the means of transport used, or intended to be used, for carriage of goods under the customs transit regime though their territories.
The Cabinet had cleared the draft of APTTA, along with some directives with regard to reduction in tariff. The Ministry of Law and Justice had vetted the draft of APTTA from legal point of view. The Law Ministry stated that APTTA was cleared for placement before the Cabinet, subject to comments of the stakeholders ie Ministry of Defence, FBR, Narcotics Control Division, Ministry of Ports and Shipping, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the provinces.
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