KARACHI: The markets on the Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran borders will provide better business and trade opportunities to people living in the border areas, said Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI).

He lauded the announcement by the prime minister that the government would establish 18 markets along the country's border with Iran and Afghanistan.

The proposal said that 12 markets would be established along the Afghanistan border and six in the border areas with Iran. Initially three markets would be made operational as a pilot project by February 2021, two in Balochistan and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PAJCCI chairman welcomed the move, saying these markets would not only boost trade and curb the menace of smuggling across the borders but they would also generate significant employment opportunities for deprived segments in adjoining border areas.

Motiwala, however, said that in order to draw benefits out of these markets, appropriate border management mechanisms should be put in place.

He said that such markets had been making valuable contributions internationally and adopting the same in this region would bring about economic prosperity and socioeconomic connectivity, and it would enhance the well-being of the people across the borders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020