As part of the strategic sideline meetings with government stakeholders, the CRSS-WPSO track II Beyond Boundaries project’s Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee on Business/ Trade including chamber leaders from both countries met with Director General Afghanistan Mansour Khan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 14, 2017. Other senior officials of Afghan Desk were also present. The Director General welcomed the delegation and appreciated the CRSS for its efforts to engage in this timely initiative at a time when bilateral tensions between the two brotherly countries had risen following Pakistan’s closure of the Af-Pak border. The Director General commended the CRSS initiative of Beyond Boundaries for making significant contribution towards bringing the two countries together in the last two years.
The DG Afghanistan stated that the main issue of concern between Pakistan and Afghanistan was that the two do not have an effective engagement and a direct bilateral dialogue process. Both countries, unfortunately, have been making allegations and accusations against each other. Even though Afghanistan is Pakistan’s largest trading partner, there is some form of reluctance in Afghanistan to have direct engagement with Pakistan. Following the terrorist incidents in Pakistan last month, the DG explained, he approached the Afghan Government to have direct bilateral and security engagement with Pakistan which is still in process.
The main problem, according to DG Afghanistan, is that of border management. When Pakistan highlights the need to focus on border management as a measure to counter-terrorism, the Afghan side, unfortunately, thinks that Pakistan is adopting a controversial stance. The DG explained that the Afghans need to see the border as a border and take the position of the “Durand Line”.
He added that Pakistan was disappointed when Afghanistan joined India to boycott the SAARC Summit scheduled for November 2016 in Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan expected India to boycott but was actually hurt when Afghanistan sided with India to boycott as well. The DG, hence, concluded that the way forward for Pakistan and Afghanistan is only through direct dialogue and effective engagement.
In response, the Pakistan-Afghanistan business leaders explained to the Director General Afghanistan that both Pakistani and Afghan businessmen wish to improve the transit bilateral trade with one another as the two have suffered equally as a result of the closure.
Afghan delegate Mr. Ahmad Shah Yarzada, Director Afghan Chapter PAJCCI, stated that trade should not be combined with terrorism and security and that closing the borders was not the solution where all traders have been suffering. He added that the Afghan business community condemned the terrorist outfits in both Afghanistan and Pakistan that were carrying out terrorist activities.
Mr. Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, President and Chairman of PAJCCI, stated that he understood the position of the Government of Pakistan on security but closing the border has resulted in 80% loss to Pakistani exporters. He appealed to the DG Afghanistan to open the borders as early as possible; adding that he also strongly condemned terrorism and urged the security agencies on both sides of the border to take stringent measures to control the crossing over of terrorists.
Mr. Motiwala, head of the delegation, thanked DG Afghanistan for meeting with the Pak-Afghan delegations, and handed over the “Joint Declaration” to him.
