PESHAWAR, Feb 26: Restrictions on trade through land route from NWFP to Afghanistan and onward Central Asian Republics (CARs) have been viewed, under a recently formulated World Bank report on NWFP’s industrial sector, as one of the major impediment hindering industrial and overall economic growth in the province, according to official sources.
The World Bank report, the sources said, had pin pointed that restrictions appeared to be big hurdle in the way of industrial growth and improvement in exports from NWFP, contributing to the overall factors hampering the revival of the provincial economy.
“Given the virtual ban on land route trade via Afghanistan in recent years, the potential for exports to markets in the neighbouring region is restricted,” official sources said while quoting part of the report.
Apart from the World Bank, the senior government functionaries said, the industries and mineral development department, NWFP, too, in its recently formulated report, titled “Industrial backwardness in NWFP”, had described restrictions on trade through land route as the foremost impediment in the way of industrial promotion in NWFP.
Official sources said restrictions had also caused negative impact on the provincial and federal governments’ revenue, reducing the scope of several taxes and fees.
They said though the provincial government believed that restrictions should be lifted in totality, the past track record of the NWFP businessmen and industrialists in the wake of misusing the facility previously made the provincial and federal authorities skeptical, making them to keep on with restrictions.
“At a time when the NWFP-based manufacturers and traders stand greater business opportunities in Afghanistan and Central Asian markets under the changed situation, continuing with restrictions on trade through land route from NWFP would lend negative impact to the chances the business community stand at present,” said a local businessman.
Provincial decision makers, the sources said, felt that it was the need of the time that restrictions be removed to allow the local businessmen to claim greater share in the Afghan and Central Asian markets.
“Unless these restrictions are removed smooth access of products manufactured in NWFP to Afghanistan and Central Asia could not be ensured,” the business circles said.
Although the federal government had allowed export of several more items to Afghanistan and Central Asia, the move apparently failed to benefit the local industrialists and traders as large number of these items are not locally produced, the sources said.
The government, said an other official, was monitoring the situation and once its confidence in the NWFP traders restored it would certainly relax the restrictions.
However, the issue was apparently undermining whatever progress has been made in the industrial sector in NWFP as “products manufactured in this province do not stand greater prospects in Punjab and other provinces, these are the Afghan and Central Asian markets where the NWFP industrial sector would bank on,” the sources added.