Kabul’s reservations
THIS is with reference to the news item ‘Implementation of APTTA may be delayed’ (Jan 20). According to the report, the newly-signed Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement will be further delayed as ‘the Kabul government has some reservations over it’.
It is indeed strange that the Afghan government should have any objection to the implementation of the revised agreement.
Pakistan’s manufacturing sector has been virtually destroyed due to the misuse of the previous 50-year-old agreement, which allowed smugglers to dump Afghan transit trade goods in our markets at will.
Survival of Pakistan’s industries depends on immediately stopping smuggling. As the agreement has already been signed, it is in Pakistan’s interest to have it implemented despite reservations by the Afghan government.
SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
Published in DAWN, 22nd January 2011
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