Afghanistan and Pakistan have signed an agreement on transit trade, allowing truckers from both countries to take goods to all cities.
The Afghanistan Ministry of Transport and Aviation on Monday said the agreement called ‘TAD’ with Pakistan granted permission to commercial vehicles of both countries to enter all cities in the two countries for the next six months.
The agreement comes after passports and visas for drivers were declared mandatory, but Afghan drivers faced problems in getting in Pakistani visas, so they stopped travelling to Pakistan.
Nangarhar businesspeople think this agreement is a short-term solution to the problem and urge a permanent solution to the movement of trucks through Torkham.
Ministry of Transport and Aviation spokesman Imamuddin Ahmadi said the TAD agreement was signed with Pakistan for a period of six months.
He added: “With this permission, our drivers and cleaners can enter and exit Pakistan for six months, they will be able import and export goods as much as they can in all cities of Pakistan”.
Under the agreement, the TAD certificate will be issued within five working days by the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan and the Pakistani consulate in Kandahar, and the Afghan consulates in Peshawar and Quetta.
Separate certificates will be made for drivers and cleaners in five working days and both certificates will cost one hundred dollars.
But the chamber of commerce in Nangarhar says this short-term agreement cannot solve the problem of traders and truckers and Pakistan should work for a permanent solution to the problem.
Dr. Mukhlis Ahmad, a member of the board of directors of Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said his agreement was useful, but getting a certificate was difficult.
He said the certificate was issued for one year— for the first six months and the second six months.
It would solve the problem of roadblocks and delays in clearance of goods. “But it is difficult to get this document”.
On the other hand, Nangarhar Trade Union President Zalmi Aazimi suggested working on alternative ways as he believed trade and transit problem with Pakistan could not be solved in such short-term agreements and in a short period of time.
“The Ministry of Commerce should work on alternative ways. In last 20 years, Pakistan always created problems for Afghan traders especially during fruits harvest seasons.
Pakistan hurts us badly in terms of trade.”
But the Ministry of Commerce was hopeful the agreement with Pakistan would mostly solve this problem.
Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad also said the transit problem had been largely resolved with the signing of this agreement.
Pakistan often closes Torkham gate and other transit routes at different times under different pretexts and creates problems for Afghan traders and commuters.
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