Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Thursday directed officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Ministry of Communications to ensure smooth transportation of perishable items meant for Afghanistan through Afghan Transit Trade.
He was presiding over a meeting to further ease process of transportation of vegetables, foods, spices and other items to and from Afghanistan. The meeting was called for speedy transportation of goods to and from Afghanistan through Wagha border and Karachi Port. It was also decided that the report of the daily movement of the containers carrying perishable items crossing Pak-Afghan border would be submitted to the (finance) minister.
Being the facilitator of the Afghan Transit Trade, the customs authorities should start working on the issuance of guarantee that is for sixty days for perishable items and file a report in this regards so that a regime be incorporated for mutual satisfaction of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The other tops discussed in the meeting included making more utilization of Dry Port at Peshawar, strengthening of the customs control and monitoring of the Afghan Transit Trade so that no leakage takes place from Karachi to Torkham and backward, and so on from Afghan border to Wagha border.
The transportation capacity between Karachi Port and Torkham border was also discussed with an aim to make the transit regime more and more efficient. Among others, the meeting was attended by Senator Ilyas Bilour, secretaries of Finance, Communications and Revenue and representatives of National Logistic Cell, and other high officials.
