INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Officials at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce say that Pakistan has not yet allowed Afghan traders& goods to be released
from the southern seaport of Karachi.During the visit of Afghanistan&s acting commerce minister to Pakistan last week, Pakistani officials
agreed to release Afghan traders& goods stranded at Karachi port.&Last Thursday, a promise was made that the stranded goods of Afghan
traders would be allowed to be transferred, but the implementation process has not started yet,& Naqibullah Safi, the executive chief of the
Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said.The Ministry of Industry and Commerce says that Pakistan is working on a plan to
release the containers.&We accept that permission has not been given yet to release the goods of Afghan traders from the port of Karachi
Pakistan is trying to start the implementation process soon,& Abdul Salam Javad, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce,
said.Economic experts say that the Islamic Emirate should resolve the trade problems between the two countries.&The Ministry of Industry and
Commerce should step up its efforts to release these goods so that Pakistan would implement its promise,& Shabir Bashiri, an economic
expert, said.Although Afghanistan and Pakistan have several trade agreements in place, Afghan traders face hurdles in transit via
Pakistan.Around 4,000 Afghanistan-bound containers have been stopped by Pakistan in the port of Karachi for several months.The post
Afghanistan-bound containers remain stuck at Karachi port first appeared on Ariana News.
