Timber merchants blamed the government for devising weak economic policies, fearing that allowing India to transit goods to Afghanistan would negatively affect the national economy. Talking to Business Recorder on Saturday, timber traders criticised the government's poor performance over the past four years and said.
"The export finance rate, which was just 7 percent during the Musharraf regime, has gone up to 19 percent in the PPP-led coalition government." "If the local exporters are burdened with huge financial liabilities then Indian goods are likely to flood not only Afghanistan's markets, but also local ones which will ultimately stifle the country's economic growth," they maintained.
"Over 1,600 India products have been included in Pakistan's trade policy, which will definitely have negative implications on local manufacturing and trade," they said, adding that the country should bolster its policies, encouraging the growth of trade with Afghanistan.
They were of the view that India had set up IT firms in Afghanistan and played a key role spreading road communication networks across the landlocked country just to provide its goods a better access to Central Asia. Terming the relaxation in visa regime between Pakistan and India an eyewash, and urging the government to help the struggling local traders, they said that such steps would not yield any positive results. Traders believed that India was just using Pakistan's land routes to reach Central Asian countries and beyond via Afghanistan.