Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade Volume Reduced By Over $1 Billion

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce announced that the level of trade exchange between Afghanistan and Pakistan has decreased from $2.5 billion to $700 million. The organisation blamed Islamabad for the decline in trade with Afghanistan.

In a statement on Wednesday, December 4, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, the deputy head of the chamber, cited various factors as the main reasons for the decline.

He said that the Pakistani government had imposed restrictions such as a temporary acceptance document, the requirement of a bank guarantee equal to the value of goods, adding 14 items to the negative list, imposing a 10 percent tariff on Afghanistan's transit goods, and stopping more than 300 Afghan commercial containers at Karachi port, which led to a decline in trade relations between the two countries.

Sarhadi added that these policies have caused a large part of Afghanistan's trade to be transferred to Iran's Chabahar port instead of Karachi port, as a result of which thousands of people have lost their jobs in Pakistani customs.

He also criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's decision to impose an additional two percent tariff on export goods sent to Afghanistan through the Torkham border. The tariff, which is aimed at developing the state's infrastructure, has put more pressure on traders.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce has called for an immediate review of these policies to prevent further damage to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

In the past few decades, Afghan governments have had not very warm relations with Pakistan due to their proximity to India. Strained relations and hostility between Islamabad and Kabul have hurt land trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Although the Afghan Taliban enjoyed broad support from Pakistan in the war against the previous government for the past 20 years, after the fall of the government, the Taliban's relationship with Islamabad deteriorated due to its support for Pakistani militants.

Pakistan has ignored the Taliban's repeated calls to improve economic relations and solve the problem of Afghan businessmen in the field of trade.