Pakistan trade deal a major step, says Afghanistan
 

[I][B]KABUL: Land-locked Afghanistan on Monday said a transit deal with neighbouring Pakistan that finally gives it access to the sea and markets in India was a major move towards developing the region and boosting commerce.[/I]
The agreement, signed late on Sunday, also won enthusiastic support from the United States, which hopes it will bring the two closer to fight militants operating on both sides of the border and help counter the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.

“(President Hamid) Karzai ... congratulated people of both countries on the signing of the agreement and called it a major step for the regional trade and for the path of its development,” his office said in a statement following the signing of the pact late on Sunday.

Afghanistan has long demanded its trucks be allowed to transport goods to India through Pakistan via the sensitive Wagah land route. It also gives it access to the sea, an Afghan official said.

The Pakistani government said the transit trade deal would, in turn, allow Pakistan to export its goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan. However, it said India would not be allowed to use the Pakistani land route for trading with Afghanistan.

“It has been agreed that no Indian export to Afghanistan will be allowed through Wagah,” the Pakistani commerce ministry said in a statement, referring to the border crossing between Pakistani city of Lahore and India's Amritsar.

A US embassy statement called the transit deal one of the most important achievements between the two countries in nearly 50 years and their most significant bilateral economic treaty.
It needs to be ratified by both parliaments.

More exports would help Karzai counter a Taliban insurgency by improving economic conditions, an important goal for Washington as it looks ahead to President Barack Obama's July 2011 target date to begin withdrawing US troops.

Almost 50 per cent of Afghanistan's trade is with its five neighbours - Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan is worth more than $1 billion annually.

The deal comes ahead of an international conference in Kabul on Tuesday at which donor countries and Karzai's government will try to chart a path forward for the conflict-torn country.

Afghanistan hopes its strategic geographic position will make it a regional transit hub for trade with Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and China, if the country becomes stable.

US officials say the new deal will reduce average transit costs between the two countries by half, lower import costs and make exports more competitive, along with helping employment prospects on both sides of the border. – Reuters[/B]

Islamabad—The Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Sohail Ahamd Butt on Wednesday said that Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement would benefit both Pakistan and Afghanistan but not India. “Pakistan will provide trade transit facility to India for Afghanistan when India responds on reciprocal basis by providing the Pakistan with same facilities to Nepal and Bangladesh” Butt said while talking to reporters after attending meeting of Public Accounts Committee here at Parliament House. “Under Pak-Afghan trade transit agreement Pakistani traders would get access to markets at Central Asian States” he observed adding,“ However, Indian trade goods would not be permitted to Afghanistan under this treaty”.

He added that Pakistan had conveyed to Afghan authorities that Afghan traders would have to use containers, bound for India from Afghanistan, of international standards which would remain sealed while passing through Pakistani territories. Responding to a question, Butt said that according to a report published by FBR in collaboration with few other organizations, Pakistan had potential of generating tax collection worth of Rs 500 billions more by improving tax colleting mechanism. “We are confident that Pakistan tax payers have potential of contributing Rs 500 billions are tax revenue to the national exchequer by making coordinating efforts at local, district and provincial levels” the FBR Chairman added.

He said that Customs Department had played gigantic role in averting smuggling of goods booked for Afghanistan in the name of Afghan transit that was why hundreds of containers loaded with electronic goods were waiting for entry into Pakistan at Tookham border. “We are now considering permitting them entry after payment of duty however the decision in this connection would be taken after deep consultation with local industry and business community” he observed.