Director, Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has expressed concern over the overburden of paperwork and the demand for pointless documents at Karachi's seaport for containers brought in under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement.

The practise of unnecessary documentation, according to Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, who is also the president of the Frontier Custom Agents Association, is not only delaying the clearance of goods but also diverting trade to seaports in neighbouring countries, such as Cha Bahar and Bandar Abbass in Iran. The requirement for extraneous documentation during the clearance of commodities at the Karachi seaport had caused the Afghan businessmen stress and dissatisfaction, he continued.

Leading Afghan businesspeople recently held a news conference in Kabul to discuss this problem, he said. They included Khan Jan Alkozey, who is also Co-Chairman of PAJCCI, Youna Mohmand, President of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and government representatives. According to Zia, Afghan merchants do not encounter these obstacles when importing items from other countries.

He urged the persons involved to pay attention to the problem, which is detrimental to income creation since business is moving to ports in other countries. He said that hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs if the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade is moved to another country. He claimed that thousands of individuals are involved in the trade, from the arrival of imported products in Karachi to their transfer from the seaport to Afghanistan. Zia emphasised that it is important for the relevant departments to develop policies with a focus on facilitating the ease of doing business in order to encourage trade and commerce and provide employment for people.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk