PAJCCI seeks one-time clearance of 10,000 containers on Pak-Afghan trade routes

KABUL (Pajhwok): Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) has urged the relevant authorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan to allow a one-time clearance of more than 10,000 containers that have remained stuck on Pakistan–Afghanistan trade routes for over 100 days due to the suspension of trade.

According to a report by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, the containers have been stranded along the trade routes since bilateral trade between the two countries was suspended.

PAJCCI officials said re-exporting the goods would involve additional expenses, including freight charges from Karachi back to the port of origin, terminal handling and port charges, shipping costs to Iran’s Bandar Abbas, and other related fees.

The chamber said the continued closure of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has already inflicted losses running into billions of rupees on business communities in both countries, warning that re-exporting the stranded containers would further burden traders.

This comes as Pakistan has repeatedly closed trade routes with Afghanistan, eventually prompting Afghanistan to suspend trade with Pakistan.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, called on industrialists and traders to use alternative trade routes instead of Pakistan.

According to Mullah Baradar, Pakistan’s repeated closure of trade routes and its political use of trade and humanitarian issues have caused losses to traders and industrialists in both countries, compelling the Islamic Emirate to take this decision.

sa