PESHAWAR: Pakistan is no longer the leading country in terms of trade with Afghanistan as bilateral trade has declined drastically over the last several years because of restrictions and hurdles on border crossing points on both sides. According to details, the volume of Afghan trade through Pakistan has declined by more than 50 per cent from $2.5 billion to $1bn. Article continues after this advertisementSarhadi said in the last 10 years, 832,000 containers of Afghan transit trade worth $33 billion passed through Pakistan, meaning a 30pc reduction in transit trade as it shifted to Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It should be noted that the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement, 2010 expired on February 11. On the other hand, Pakistan wants free trade with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) through Afghanistan but no agreement has been reached so far.

Source: Pakistan Today March 24, 2021 15:22 UTC