Afghan traders want APTTA agreement with Pakistan reformed

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) on Tuesday said the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) should be reviewed and faults and problems in the accord facing Afghan traders resolved.

Traders say that whenever Afghanistan-Pakistan relations are strained and transit routes closed, they suffer millions of dollars in losses.

These statements were made by ACCI officials in a consultative meeting on APTTA with traders on Tuesday in eastern Nangarhar province.

Organizers of the conference said that traders would discuss defects in APTTA and find solutions to them.

Khan Jan Alkozai, a member of the board of directors of ACCI said that changes in APTTA should be made on the behest of traders.

He added that the agreement had some defects that caused delays in commercial affairs for Afghan traders besides damages made to goods being transported.

Nangarhar Chamber of Industries and Mines director and businessman, Tormalang Shagiwal said that whenever Afghanistan- Pakistan relations strained, Afghan traders lost millions of dollars mainly due to problems in the APTTA agreement.

“Based on the agreement, all goods should be imported in containers to Afghanistan; it should not be imported otherwise. Some machinery imported by Afghan traders cannot be placed in containers, and that is a problem. When Torkham gate gets closed, the trucks which await in the border are charged $82 per day, there are also other problems that need to be solved,” he said.

Nabiullah Bazz, a Wolesi Jirga member from Nangarhar said that it was responsibility of the government to provide facilities for traders.

“If other countries have political problems, they at least have no issues in the commercial area. If you look at Pakistan and India, they have political and military problems, but solved all problems in commerce between the two countries,” he added.

Ziaul Haq Amarkhil, Nangarhar governor assured that he will share the suggestions of the traders with Presidential Palace and will work on a new mechanism for resolving commercial related problems.

APPTA was signed in 2010, but Afghan traders usually complain that Pakistan does not do its part in fully implementing the agreement.

This agreement expires in March this year, however, Pakistan decided to extend it by three moths more.

Afghanistan Ministry of Commerce says that officials of both countries are trying to make reforms in the agreement.

When President Ashraf Ghani traveled to Islamabad around three months ago, Pakistani officials during their meeting with the president promised solution to problems facing Afghan traders.

mds