Policy Research Group   - Strategic Insight: Pak-Afghan Trade Row

Pak-Afghan Trade Row
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editor on 24 June, 2009 08:31:00
 
Pakistan delegation arrived in Kabul on June 22 for discussions on a draft
transit agreement. These negotiations focus on changes proposed in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA) of 1965 and a new draft
accord.
The changes suggested by Pakistan mainly relate to ‘transit, transport’
corridors and border ports of entry/exit in the two countries that facilitates
Afghan trade with India and China.
Islamabad is opposed to allowing any transit facility to India for its trade
with Afghanistan. Likewise, it is also not in favour of providing transit
facility to Afghanistan through the ‘Northern Areas’ (of Pak administered
Kashmir) to Sust land port for its trade with China.
Therefore, Pakistan proposed deletion of two entry/exit points. These are
i) Wagha-Lahore-Rawalpionid-Peshawar-Torkham’ route for Afghanistan trade with
India.
ii) Khunjrab-Sust-Chilas-Peshwar-Torkham route for Afghanistan trade with China.
Afghanistan, however, preferred to have access to Wagha in the transit agreement
with Pakistan.
While Pakistan is nudging Afghanistan to accept the changes proposed, Islamabad
is using transit facilities to Central Asian countries notwithstanding any such
provision in the current Pak-Afghan trade agreement.
For the past five-six years, goods- laden Pakistan trucks are regularly entering
Afghanistan through Torkham while driving their way to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan
and Turkmenistan.
It may be recalled that Pakistan and Afghanistan signed on May 6 this year on
the sidelines of a trilateral summit (US-PAK-AFGHANISTAN) in Washington, a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on improving trade and access facilitation.
Under the MOU, the two countries are committed to conclude a trade transit
agreement by the end of the year. This has in turn given rise to hopes that
Pakistan would allow India to send by road its goods bound for Afghanistan and
Central Asia. Now the hopes appear unrealistic.