Thaindian News

Rawalpindi, Aug 9(ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq has said that the Pakistan People’s Party-led (PPP) government should think about national interests before signing the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).

Supporting his claim, Haq said that three provinces, including Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the business community at large opposed it.

“Now the government should take all stake holders into confidence before finalising the trade agreement,” The Daily Times quoted Haq, as saying.

Earlier, last month, the transit trade deal was finalised by Pakistan Commerce Minister Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Faheem, and Afghan Commerce and Industries Minister Dr Anwarul Haq Ahady at the Prime Minister’s House in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan hope that the resolution of all outstanding matters relating to the finalisation of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) will help in the early signing of the agreement, after completion of legal processes from both sides,” a broad-based record note had said.

“The two sides agreed that no Indian export to Afghanistan will be allowed through Wagah, however, Afghanistan would have the opportunity to export to India. Reciprocally, Pakistan would be able to export its goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan,” it added.

The note also mentions that trucks from Afghanistan would be allowed to carry Afghan transit export cargo on designated routes to Pakistani seaports, as well as the Wagah border.

Afghan trucks, on return, will be permitted to carry goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan under the same expeditious procedures and conditions as Pakistani transport units. (ANI)