Afghan Transit Trade Agreement
THE Afghan Transit Trade Agreement was supposed to come into effect on Jan 1.
However, imported goods for Afghanistan from Karachi and Port Qasim are still being transported under the old agreement signed in 1965.
The Pakistan Customs has yet to receive instructions to implement the new agreement.
Neither are the Afghan importers providing any bank guarantees to the Pakistan Customs nor is any electronic surveillance of all containers bound for Afghanistan being carried out, as required under the new agreement.
Non-implementation of the agreement will mean that Afghan transit goods would end up in local markets, causing massive revenue losses to the government.
SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
DAWN, 5th January 2011
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