22 August 2004	Sunday	05 Rajab 1425

ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: Pakistan has asked the Afghan government to raise custom duty on those items for reducing the element of their smuggling back to Pakistan.

An official source told Dawn on Saturday that the issue among others would be discussed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is arriving here on Monday.

Islamabad has proposed to Kabul to increase the duty tariff on the smuggling-prone items, which were deleted from the negative list under the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) agreement, by around 60 per cent of the Pakistani tariffs to check smuggling of these items.

It was also proposed that the remaining items will be removed from the negative list of ATT, in case the Afghan government started collection of duty on these items at import stage to make them less lucrative for smuggling.

According to the officials, the measures will not only result in generation of revenue for the Afghan government but would also result in provide protection from cheaper imports to Pakistani industry.

The official said that visiting president would also be informed about the inclusion of the two new items in the negative list of ATT - right hand vehicles and betel nuts.

Currently six items were in the negative list - cigarillos and cigarettes of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes; dyes and chemicals; cooking oil; tyres and tubes; soap; auto parts (all sorts) and telephone sets.