KABUL (SW) – As 3,000 containers of commercial goods of Afghan merchants remain held by Pakistani authorities at the Karachi Port, the traders are slapped with losses of 400,000 dollars per day.
Naqibullah Safi, executive director of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Salam Watandar: “Pakistan Chamber of Commerce said that they will issue a new letter to release these containers, but this has not been done yet. There are the fines inflicted upon us and we pay a fine of 400,000 dollars per day for the 3,000 containers.”
On the other hand, a number of Afghan merchants whose commercial goods have been stopped at Karachi port say that the stoppage of their goods in Karachi port has caused them huge financial losses. Zalmi, an Afghan businessman whose 30 containers of commercial goods have been stuck in the port of Karachi for more than a month, says that he has lost all his capital during this time.
This Afghan businessman adds: “I pay a fine of at least 1,300 dollars a day, you can calculate how much it will be in a month. A trader loses all his capital by doing this. Trade with Pakistan has become very discredited. No businessman is interested in doing business in Pakistan anymore.”
Similarly, Abdul Baqer, another Afghan businessman, says: “They promised that they will release the containers, but we have not seen the result yet. This problem should be solved as soon as possible because with each passing day, it causes us to go bankrupt.”
However, officials in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce say that Pakistan is working on a specific mechanism to release the containers of commercial goods for the Afghan traders, according to which the containers will be gradually allowed to enter Afghanistan.
Akhundzada Abdusalam Javad, the spokesman of this ministry, told Salaam Watandar: “If they allow all the containers in one place, chaos and problems will arise. For this reason, they are working on a specific mechanism so that 300 or 400 containers are imported daily. That’s why they haven’t moved yet. Maybe this process will start in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, Nuruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, reached an agreement with the officials of this country during his trip to Pakistan last week to release the commercial goods of Afghan merchants from Karachi port.
ENDS
