FCAA delegation calls on newly appointed Director Transit Trade

PESHAWAR, Jun 19 (APP/DNA):A five-member delegation led by President Frontier Customs Agents Association (FCAA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, met with the newly appointed Director Transit Trade, Peshawar, Muhammad Saeed Asad at the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Customs House Peshawar and welcomed him on assuming the post.

The delegation members included Senior Vice President of the Association Khalid Shahzad, Coordinator of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Vice President Imtiaz Ahmed Ali, Secretary General Mian Waheed Shah Bacha, Member Executive Committee and Director Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce Farooq Ahmed and Bilal Ahmed.

Superintendent of Customs Transit Trade Torkham, Siddique Akbar and Inspector Mazhar Maqsood were also present on the occasion.

Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, who is also Senior Vice President, Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) said newly appointed Director Transit Trade has served on various positions in FBR and is well aware of the problems being faced by business community.

While referring Afghan Transit Trade signed in 1965, Zia said the agreement continued to operate smoothly for 45 years, due to which, besides businessmen, customs clearing agents, border agents, shipping agents and transporters were doing their business with great facilities.

However, the decades old agreement was replaced in haste by Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) of October 2010 in which the stakeholders were not taken into confidence, due to which this agreement was sabotaged and 70 percent of our trade was shifted to Chabahar and Bandar Abbas (Iran) instead of Karachi port.

The volume of Pak-Afghan bilateral trade which was 2.5 billion dollars some time ago has plunged to $70 million, claimed President FCAA.

Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi said that there is a need to review this agreement and include relevant stakeholders in it to overcome these difficulties.

He also paid tribute to the transferred Director Amjad-ur-Rehman, Additional Director Dr. Tahir Iqbal Khattak and Deputy Director Maleeka and said that they spent their time with great honesty and efficiency.

On this occasion, Farooq Ahmed also mentioned the difficulties in Afghan transit trade. The delegation requested Director General Transit Trade Muhammad Mohsin Rafique to visit Peshawar at his first opportunity and visit Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Zia also thanked the officials of the Ministry of Commerce and FBR for reviewing the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Commerce on Afghan transit trade on October 3, 2023, which had led to a significant decrease in transit trade and said that this step will definitely increase transit trade.

He expressed concern over the provincial government’s imposition of 2% infrastructure development cess on exports and 1% on Afghan transit trade and said that due to this step, business has come to an end on the four Pak-Afghan borders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and most of the goods are going through Chaman Border in Balochistan instead of this route, due to which hundreds of people of our province, including customs clearing agents, border agents, laborers and transporters, have become unemployed.

Speaking on the occasion, newly appointed Director Muhammad Saeed Asad assured the delegation of his all possible cooperation and said steps will be taken through mutual consultation to resolve these issues, while the implementation of the recommendations and requests presented by the delegation will be ensured.