Pak-Afghan border needs to have bank counters, vaccination facilities: PAJCCI

KARACHI: Zubair Motiwala Chairman and Khan Jan Alokozai Co-Chairman of Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) have suggested to set up bank counters at borders and polio vaccination facilities for Afghan children accompanied by the parents.

The inclusion of CAR region in PAJCCI’s current portfolio to serve as tri-lateral Chamber was also iterated. At PAJCCI’s recently held Stakeholders’ meeting, they briefed the house about high impact issues requiring immediate resolutions by both Governments, as well as, potential of trade quantum with Afghanistan and CARs region.

They requested the intervention of Speaker NA; Asad Qaiser and Special Envoy to Afghanistan; Muhammad Sadiq, who assured of their full support in taking up the issues at highest level of the governments. PAJCCI was sought to submit report on high impact issues and their solutions to take up these matters with government’s relevant quarters for swift resolution and across border where need be. PAJCCI was also told to represent these issues at upcoming Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) and Pakistan Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group (PAPFG) meetings.

A detailed submitted report mainly embarked upon business unfriendly SBP policies, absence of appropriate barter trade mechanism, investment and joint venture policies, undue pressures from FIA & FBR, refusal of banks to process third party payments in absence of operational banking structure in Afghanistan, duty rationalization, fiscal reforms, double taxation, unilateral imposition of duties and taxes by either government, free movement of goods vehicles in both countries, unnecessary documentation and security checks, free movement and access to transit facilities, absence of business friendly visa policy & facilitation of business community on both sides, finalization of APTTA, joint delegations to CARs and frequent visits at both business and governmental levels, infrastructure at borders, separate road lanes for bilateral and transit trade, lack of one-window operation and cohesive policy for trade with Afghanistan.

Motiwala said that the quantum of trade with Afghanistan is huge; however, due to lack of coordinated effort and focus, Pakistan is fast losing the trade share in the immediate neighbourhood and leaving the gap for Iran and other countries.

Despite the current situation in Afghanistan and international sanctions, the Afghan government is heavily leaning on Pakistan and are very much interested in trading with Pakistan including investment and joint ventures.

The time is now to capture the moment and create sustainable socio-economic prosperity across both countries who share cultural, social and religious ties. Trading with Afghanistan and transit trade via Afghanistan to CAR will bring socio-economic uplift to the people of both countries. World perspective has now shifted from geo-politics to geo-economics which shall be fully capitalized.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022