By Sajjad Ali
ISLAMABAD: Speaker of National Assembly, Asad Qaiser on Monday said providing optimum facilities to traders and investors of Pakistan and Afghanistan would help ushering a new era of economic development and prosperity in the entire region. According to media, addressing at the Pakistan Afghanistan Trade and Investment Forum 2020, he called for constituting a joint front to eliminate illiteracy, poverty, achieve lasting peace and promote investments in the region. The only way to enhance bilateral relations was to promote trade, he said. In last four months, he said, Pakistan has taken various steps to facilitate Afghan transit trade. On receiving information that more than 11,000 containers were struck in Pakistan, the National Assembly took various steps to make clearance of containers easy and prompt.
Four task forces had been constituted under Parliamentary Friendship Group for resolving issues. Over 20 meetings of the task forces had already been held besides visiting crossing points and ports for making possible prompt clearance of the containers. He said, now a container can reach Afghanistan in three days from Karachi port as compared to 28 days in the past. Pakistan was opening three more border crossing points for enhancing bilateral trade. In July 2020, an average of 350 containers were being cleared at the borders, and the number has increased to 1,800 in October 2020.
The new visa policy speaks volume of the enhanced Pak-Afghan trade. This would help facilitating people of Afghanistan especially Afghan students, businessmen and patients.
He said the seminar would help strengthening diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and both countries would facilitate and promote trade through Central Asian states.
