KABUL (SW) – Thousands of goods containers destined for Afghanistan remain stranded in Pakistan, said officials.
Officials at the Ministry of Industry and Trade have told Salam Watandar that on Monday, a delegation from the caretaker government of the Islamic Emirate headed by Nouruddin Azizi, the caretaker of this ministry, went to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, to participate in a tripartite meeting with Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Akhundzada Abdulsalam Javad, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, says that the acting minister has discussed with Jalil Abbas Jilani, the minister of foreign affairs of the interim government of Pakistan, about the transit problems of the two countries and the stopping of more than 3,000 containers of commercial goods by Afghan merchants in the port of Karachi.
With increasing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, Afghan businessmen always complain about the deliberate pressure of the Pakistani government against the private sector at Karachi port and Torkham crossing, and say that the stoppage of commercial goods has caused them millions of dollars in losses.
Meanwhile, the officials of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment express hope that the country’s transit problems will be resolved following the meeting between the officials of the Islamic Emirate and the Pakistani officials.
“We hope that this trip can solve the problems of the private sector of Afghanistan related to transportation, transit and transfers,” says Khairuddin Mayel, deputy of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment. “The Chamber of Commerce and Investment wants good relations with neighboring countries.”
It should be mentioned that before this, the joint chamber of commerce and industry of Afghanistan and Pakistan has called the newly imposed restrictions in the transit sector by Pakistan against the international principles.
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