THE Afghanistan-Pakistan transit trade agreement is a bilateral pact between the two countries that aims at increasing the flow of commodities between the two countries which approved it in 2010 in the presence of a large number of high-ranking officials and foreign ambassadors.

Given that Pakistan is currently going through an economic crisis, and, on its part, Afghanistan has its own share of grave problems, it is the responsibility of the officials and high-level representatives of both the countries to revive the agreement and resume bilateral trade.

Afghanistan had been granted permission to transit commodities through Pakistan first under a contract signed in 1965, called the Afghanistan-Pakistan transit trade (APTT) agreement, which was cancelled by the rehashed treaty.

Afghanistan was also offered a tax exemption, under the old agreement, and it used to transport a lot of goods using the port in Karachi. Pakistan, however, did not receive any reciprocal rights.

The new trade deal of 2010 was signed after a memorandum of understanding, which, among others, was also attested by the then United States secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

The transit trade agreement of 2010 permits goods transfer between the two countries using each other’s ports, railroads and airports. Under the terms of the agreement, trucks from Afghanistan are allowed to enter Chaman, Torkham and Ghulam Muhammad border crossings.

In accordance with this arrangement, Afghanistan can send goods to India across the Wagah border, but India cannot send goods back to Afghanistan through the same route. Due to the trade agreement, both the countries now have access to markets they did not previously have. Afghanistan has access to Indian and other markets by using Pakistani ports, while Pakistan has access to Central Asian markets.

In 2015, Tajikistan was initially included in the trade agreement, but Afghanistan later withdrew because it wanted to include India before allowing Tajikistan, or any else for that matter, to take part.

In 2017, Ashraf Ghani, the then president of Afghanistan, cancelled the agreement by issuing an executive order that forbade the transit of Pakistani goods through Afghanistan, and declared the agreement null and void.

If both countries revive the previous deal, it will create a lot of opportunities for the poor people of the both nations. Besides, it will also bolster the economy of the two countries.

Since Kabul is being run by Afghan Taliban and the American forces have left the region, it is now a wonderful opportunity for both the countries to resume bilateral trade and interaction.

Ayaz Ali Bhatti
Thari Mirwah

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023