Member of National Assembly Zubaida Jalal has asked the industrialists of Karachi and Punjab to start export-oriented business ventures in Balochistan, particularly in Gawadar, to explore the untapped potential of the province. Zubaida - who has become a member of the Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Executive Committee, Balochistan - said the province was neglected in terms of the facilities for trade and industry. “We should not always rely on Islamabad. We have to generate our own revenues too,” she said and added the PBF would forward its recommendations to the chief minister.

“The provincial government must realise if it strengthens the trade and industry of the province, it will also get better revenue from them in the form of taxes,” she said in a statement issued by the PBF Balochistan chapter. PBF Chairman Balochistan, Engr. Daroo Khan Achakzai emphasised the need to further strengthen cross-border trade with the neighbouring countries to boost exports and provide employment opportunities to the people living near the bordering areas of Balochistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a long border, where ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns live across both sides of the border and maintain close contact, owing to their traditional cultural, linguistic, and economic ties, he said. In addition to livelihood-related interactions, both formal and informal, and often provided by extensive trade networks - border communities also rely on cross-border commuting to access education and health care, he added.
Achakzai said Pakistan– Afghanistan–Tajikistan Regional Integration Programme (PATRIP) Foundation built health care facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan, which also served Afghan border communities.

Cross-border trade markets in the Torkham and Wesh–Chaman crossing points offer border communities economic opportunities and possibilities to engage in trade and business, he said. Youth exchanges through universities and youth centers are also a proven tool to increase contacts and cross-border cooperation and integration between the two countries, he added.

PBF Vice Chairperson Sana Durrani said “Products that are not produced on one side of the border can be exchanged in the border markets with products produced on the other side of the border.” The legal trade would create greater space for legal activities and hence reduce border security risks, she added.
Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Balochistan chapter executive committee has been constituted for a period of two years (2022-24). The executive committee consists of Provincial Chairman Engr. Daroo Khan Achakzai, Zubaida Jalal, Sana Durrani, Bashir Agha, Waliullah Khan Kaasi, Nagman Abdul President of Gawadar Chamber of Commerce, Qaseem Zarghoon, Sahibzada Muhammad Khan, Deedar Mengal, President of Rotary Club Haji Hameed Ullah and Shah Wali from Quetta Chamber of Commerce.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk