ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday that it is finding ways to felicitate Afghan transit trade and also introducing a negative list of products that are being diverted back to Pakistan after import by Afghanistan – one of the key concerns which Islamabad communicated to Kabul recently along with evidence of the TTP hideouts across the country.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told her weekly media briefing in response to a question that on the transit trade, Pakistan has stated publicly and also conveyed to Afghanistan bilaterally, that it would continue to facilitate transit trade and bilateral trade with Afghanistan.

“However, we have concerns about the misuse of transit trade facilities and in that respect, Pakistan has introduced a negative list of products which we believe are luxury items. We have seen concrete evidence that these items were being diverted back to Pakistan after import by Afghanistan, especially when these luxury items have no use in Afghanistan. So, on such items Pakistan’s policy is very clear,” she said.

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As a policy, she added that Pakistan will continue to find ways to facilitate transit trade, as it is critical for our vision of connectivity in the region.

In a response to a question about the recent visit by the Afghan acting commerce minister and Afghanistan’s demand with regard to the transfer of assets owned by illegally residing Afghans, she said that under Pakistani laws, any individual who has to purchase any property has to show documentary evidence of their legal status, including identification documents.

“So, any business concerns which have been acquired through fake documents, or have been acquired in the name of individuals who are not Afghans, will be treated as per Pakistani law. We have seen that some business concerns have been run through informal or benami arrangements or through acquisition of fake Pakistan CNICs. This is another violation of Pakistani law and these issues will be handled as per Pakistan’s laws,” she said.

She also underlined that there is a task force led by the Secretary Interior for the identification of such assets, adding that the task force will track and trace properties which were acquired by foreigners through fake identity documents.

To another query about the threat posed by Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), she said that Pakistan and Afghanistan remain engaged through various channels to discuss issues of concern between our two countries. She said that the embassies of the two countries are functional and they are the prime channel of communication between the two countries.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023