Pakistan Allows Transit Goods from Afghanistan to Be Moved to Karachi Port
Pakistani officials have announced that Afghan transit goods, which had been stuck for several months in the cities of Chaman and Quetta, are now permitted to be transferred for re-export to the ports of Karachi and Qasim. This decision has been officially declared by Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue.
According to a statement from this agency, the process for “re-transferring” all detained goods to Karachi and Qasim ports has been approved and will be carried out under the supervision of customs authorities. This move comes after key border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan were closed following clashes in the month of Mizan last year, effectively halting Afghanistan’s transit trade through Karachi.
Under the new regulations, commercial goods remaining in Chaman and Quetta will be transferred to Karachi in accordance with customs procedures and under the watch of customs officers. Licensed transport companies are required to first submit an official request, after which each convoy, consisting of 15 freight trucks accompanied by a customs officer, will be allowed to move.
The prolonged halt in transit trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has caused significant financial losses for traders on both sides. Some Afghan traders had previously stated that the stoppage of goods at ports and transit routes had frozen their capital for months and imposed additional costs on them.
It is expected that the implementation of this decision will alleviate some of the economic pressures on traders and reactivate the southern trade route, which is one of Afghanistan’s key access points to international waters.
