Islamabad: Politics and trade should be treated separately to ensure that political tensions do not disrupt bilateral economic activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan, emphasised experts during a session on 'Pak-Afghan Economic and Trade Ties’ here on Wednesday.
They added that given the significant complexities involved, achieving that goal would require exceptional diplomacy from both Islamabad and Kabul. The panellists insisted that despite ongoing political challenges, trade and economic cooperation must continue uninterrupted through a structured approach to enhance competitiveness, address transit trade issues, and improve trade facilitation mechanisms. "While Pakistan declared a shift toward a geo-economic strategy in 2018, its implementation has been inconsistent, so there is a need for an integrated regional approach instead of crisis-driven decision-making," Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) chairman Khalid Rahman told the event organised by the institute on its premises. He advocated for a comprehensive, well-coordinated and long-term strategy. The other speakers included IPS vice-president Syed Abrar Hussain, former ambassador Ayaz Wazir, senior analyst Brigadier (r) Said Nazir, Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Junaid Ismail Makda, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry leader Fazal Moqeeem Khan, Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry patron-in-chief Jawad Hussain Kazmi, National Dialogue Forum executive director Sheharyar Khan, and senior journalist Tahir Khan. They noted that Pak-Afghan trade relations had challenges largely due to political instability and frequent regime changes, which continued to disrupt economic productivity.
According to panellists, the key obstacle remains the repeated closure of trade routes, especially at the Torkham border, which hampers transit trade and affects access to key international markets, including Europe. Also, structural issues such as smuggling, limited infrastructure, banking and payment challenges, weak border management, poor implementation of trade agreements, limited digital trade processing, absence of a transparent digital supervision system, and outdated trade regulations also hinder ease of doing business. The speakers said those challenges, coupled with an unstable security environment, had led regional players like Central Asian states to explore alternative trade routes.
