ID :
134523
Sun, 07/25/2010 - 12:15
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/134523
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Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement challenged in court
Islamabad, July 25, IRNA -- An agreement, that will allow the landlocked country of Afghanistan to import goods via Pakistan, was challenged in a Pakistani court on Saturday.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) was signed in Islamabad at the weekend in the presence of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton’s presence at the signing ceremony along with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani prompted criticism by opposition parties and business groups.
The agreement also allows Afghanistan to export its goods to neighboring India via Wahga border point. But India will not be allowed to use Pakistan’s land route for trade with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has indicated to Afghanistan that in future India could also be given permission to use its land route.
A petition filed in the Lahore High Court said that the APTTA will ‘destroy’ Pakistan’s economy.
A lawyer Shafqat Mehmood Chohan, said in his petition that the agreement will also ‘promote smuggling’ as the transit goods will be smuggled back into Pakistan.
The applicant asked the government to direct the government not to implement the agreement.
Currently Afghanistan imports goods via Pakistani ports under an agreement signed in 1965 but they want to revise it in view of fast growing world and regional trade.
Opposition political and religious parties as well as trade groups strongly opposed the APTTA, saying that it will promote smuggling and will also benefit arch-rival India. They argue that the agreement will badly hit the local industry as the imported items which are not in demand in Afghanistan will be smuggled into Pakistan./end
The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) was signed in Islamabad at the weekend in the presence of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton’s presence at the signing ceremony along with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani prompted criticism by opposition parties and business groups.
The agreement also allows Afghanistan to export its goods to neighboring India via Wahga border point. But India will not be allowed to use Pakistan’s land route for trade with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has indicated to Afghanistan that in future India could also be given permission to use its land route.
A petition filed in the Lahore High Court said that the APTTA will ‘destroy’ Pakistan’s economy.
A lawyer Shafqat Mehmood Chohan, said in his petition that the agreement will also ‘promote smuggling’ as the transit goods will be smuggled back into Pakistan.
The applicant asked the government to direct the government not to implement the agreement.
Currently Afghanistan imports goods via Pakistani ports under an agreement signed in 1965 but they want to revise it in view of fast growing world and regional trade.
Opposition political and religious parties as well as trade groups strongly opposed the APTTA, saying that it will promote smuggling and will also benefit arch-rival India. They argue that the agreement will badly hit the local industry as the imported items which are not in demand in Afghanistan will be smuggled into Pakistan./end
