ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Monday it would open the Wagah border crossing with India from July 15 to allow Afghan exports to pass through, saying the move would fulfil Pakistan’s commitments under the Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
Islamabad has restored trade operations with Afghanistan at all border terminals in recent weeks after closing them in mid-March to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.
“At the special request of the Government of Afghanistan and with a view to facilitating Afghanistan’s transit trade, Pakistan has decided to resume Afghan exports through Wagah border crossing from 15 July 2020, after implementing COVID-19 related protocols,” the foreign office said in a statement.
The Wagah border is located near Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province, and is one of the major crossings between India and Pakistan.
APTTA was signed in 2010, allowing landlocked Afghanistan to trade with India through Wagah.
APTTA permits Afghanistan trucks access to the Wagah border with India, where Afghan goods are offloaded onto Indian trucks, but does not permit Indian goods to be loaded onto trucks for transit back to Afghanistan.
The APTTA agreement also allows Afghan trucks to transport exports to India via Pakistan up to the Wagah crossing point, but does not offer Afghanistan the right to import Indian goods across Pakistani territory. Instead, Afghan trucks offloaded at Wagah may return to Afghanistan loaded only with Pakistani, rather than Indian goods, in an attempt to prevent the formation of a black market for Indian goods in Pakistan.
“I think the past routine will continue as it was not mentioned in today’s [foreign office] statement that Pakistan will allow Afghan trucks to enter into India,” Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Zubair Motiwala, said, adding that the decision to reopen the crossing on July 15 was a “welcoming and timely” announcement for Afghan traders and the most cost effective.
