PESHAWAR: The business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to relax visa policies and remove hurdles to the promotion of bilateral trade.

Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) senior vice-president Shahid Hussain told a meeting on the chamber’s premises that business communities of both Pakistan and Afghanistan required hassle-free visas to travel to their neighbouring country.

He called for pragmatic steps to address issues hampering visa issuance by Islamabad and Kabul to businesspersons saying relaxation of visa policy will boost bilateral trade.

The senior SCCI office-bearer warned that if speedy visa issuance to businessperson wasn’t ensured, business and investment conferences won’t deliver the goods.

SCCI leader says Pak-Afghan trade volume came down from $2.5bn in 2012 to $6m in 2022

He said that the annual Pak-Afghan trade volume was $2.5 billion in 2012 but unfortunately, it came down to just $6 million in 2022.

Mr Hussain said that the annual Pakistan-Afghan trade’s volume was $2.5 billion in 2012 but unfortunately, it came down to just to six million dollars in 2022.

He alleged that Afghans, including traders, were illegally charged $1,000 for visa issuance.

The SCCI leader said that in view of the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, Pakistani businessmen feared for their lives in the neighbouring country.

He said that Afghan citizens didn’t have language issue in Pakistan nor did they have movement problem in the country.

“Afghans only need timely and prompt issuance of visas to do business in Pakistan,” he said.

Mr Hussain said that instead of holding conferences, both countries should relax visa policies towards each other as the focus on other activities would further reduce the volume of Pakistan-Afghanistan trade.

He said that Pakistan’s exports to the Central Asian States would also increase if the Pakistan-Afghanistan trade volume went up.

The SCCI leader said that the trade and commerce market of CARs was valued at $100 billion but Pakistan’s share in it was negligible.

He said that Pakistan had also been ignored due to various factors, including a long delay in the issuance of visas to the residents of Central Asian states, including traders.

Mr Hussain wondered who would come to Pakistan to do business or invest money under that situation.

He said urged authorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan to take tangible measures to facilitate their business communities to increase bilateral trade.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022