Afghanistan losing interest in trade links with Pakistan

[Manidabest]

Hope the decision makers at the top are more saner continue building fences, continue being a security state, continue creating more Nukes, while the rest of the neighbours steal your business from you. Smart thinking no ?

well fence is necessary because indians agents and spies are coming through there and Nukes r not for u its for our eastern neighbour and business in Pakistan is flourishing soo we dont worry about it ..

 

[A-Team]

brother its not about winning ... its about promoting and achieving good strong and solid relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.. at the end of the day if you see in last 2000 yrs we have been together for 1800yrs and just 200yrs cant erase our 1800yrs of bond and it shouldnt be ... and when i say my best friend is from Afghanistan then that i mean it.. and i know many more Afghans who love Pakistan and consider it home ...

I think if you look at my post I have been advocating this as a lose-lose situation because I want Afghans to do commerce using Pakistan, Iran and all other routes that's a win-win situation.

But the knee-jerk reaction as you see from most of the PDF members is, NO we don't care about Afghan business, lets build fences

 

[Hussain Farooqui]

There is no love affair in international politics or trade. Doing or not doing something is always dependent on volatile interests. Interests are volatile so are changes accordingly.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

Afghanistan losing interest in trade links with Pakistan
By Peer Muhammad
Published: April 21, 2016
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Afghanistan’s disinterest means that Pakistan has potentially lost a great opportunity to build strategic trade ties with regional economies. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: Afghan authorities appear to have lost interest in pushing forward any trade related agreements with Pakistan with the alternative route via Iran close to being finalised.

Last week, on April 11, Iran, Afghanistan and India finished negotiating the details of the trilateral transport and transit pact, meant to provide legal framework to operate trade corridors via Iran’s Chabahar port.

India-Afghanistan trade through Pakistan

This development could possibly downgrade Pakistan’s importance from being the primary facilitator of India-Afghanistan trade to a mere back-up. This means that Pakistan has potentially lost a great opportunity to build strategic trade ties with regional economies.

Officials in the Ministry of Commerce told The Express Tribune that Afghan authorities were slower in responding to the proposed bilateral and transit trade related matters and it seemed that they were least interested towards Pakistan and would rather devote their time and energy towards materialising the trilateral agreement with Iran and India.

“All this happened because Pakistan refused to include India in the Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement,” noted the official.

Afghanistan insists that India must be part of the transit trade agreement in the same way as Pakistan uses Afghan soil to reach Central Asian states.

Afghanistan, Pakistan open key economic, trade talks

The officer cited a draft agreement pertaining to the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) that the ministry had sent months ago. He insisted that there has been no response from the other side.

“We have learnt that they have shared the draft agreement with their security agencies for clearance, which is surprising for us,” said the official.

Moreover, the maiden meeting of the Pak-Afghan Joint Business Council (JBC) has not been held even after its establishment around five months ago to discuss issues and to devise strategies for enhancing bilateral trade.

The JBC was supposed to hold its first meeting in February 2015, but it could not take place.

Pakistan, Afghanistan to resolve visa, road permit issues

“We have again asked the Pakistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to set another date in this regard. However, the ministry has not received any response from FPCCI. The members of the JBC have already been notified from each side.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2016.

This is excellent news!!....From a Pakistani POV we don't need anything from Afghanistan or india. All Pakistan needs is for CPEC to do well and act as a catalyst to kick start ALL parts of the Pakistan economy. That should be our only focus. Small economic crumbs from nations that are our enemies are completely irrelevent and non-beneficial to us. Let all Pakistanis here be honest and avoid being PC. Apart from our relationship with China, all other nation's relationships with Pakistan are meaningless and non beneficial to Pakistan. We gain nothing from other countries other than China. Aghanistan, india and america in particular are bad news for Pakistan. Ultimately I hope Pakistan cuts off ALL links at ALL levels with both india and Afghanistan. Ultimately we gain nothing from them and they both are enemies.

 

[Max]

@A-Team i want fence bcoz of security of my people and your people, maybe you still dont know that as of now there is no place or peice of land in Pakistan which TTP or its allies hold after shawal ops, now they are operating from Afghanistan, on other side you blame us for Taliban and training camps, so fence will stop blame game, we will open gate on Chaman border and maybe 2, 3 more points for trade with high security, but fence is must. even on Iran border, if Iran dont build then we must, after sacrificing so much from 2006 till 2015, we are now in good position, more losses can shake the trust of people on forces, we cant afford more security threats, we were leader in development in south asia but due to lost decades (90's (sanctions), 2000's (terror)) now even indians are getting ahead of us. we have to control this mess.

 

[Manidabest]

I think if you look at my post I have been advocating this as a lose-lose situation because I want Afghans to do commerce using Pakistan, Iran and all other routes that's a win-win situation.

But the knee-jerk reaction as you see from most of the PDF members is, NO we don't care about Afghan business, lets build fences

welll i m sure u also have some anti pakistan elements in Afghanistan so do we have them too .. but i say it again lets build bridges lets be united against our common enemies ...i do believe that one day both country will unite ... historically our PM Liaqat Ali Khan and Afghan King Zahir Shah circulated this idea but sadly enemies succeeded .. if we have one union then many of the problems will go away for sure....

 

[A-Team]

@A-Team i want fence bcoz of security of my people and your people, maybe you still dont know that as of now there is no place or peice of land in Pakistan which TTP or its allies hold after shawal ops, now they are operating from Afghanistan, on other side you blame us for Taliban and training camps, so fence will stop blame game, we will open gate on Chaman border and maybe 2, 3 more points for trade with high security, but fence is must. even on Iran border, if Iran dont build then we must, after sacrificing so much from 2006 till 2015, we are now in good position, more losses can shake the trust of people on forces, we cant afford more security threats, we were leader in development in south asia but due to lost decades (90's (sanctions), 2000's (terror)) now even indians are getting ahead of us. we have to control this mess.

- I actually don't mind creating fences to disrupt militant movement.
- But I dont think you need fences when Mullah Mansoor openly select his lieutenants in Quetta, you just need police to go there and arrest him.
- Pakistan and Afghanistan must join hands to disrupt TTP

 

[I.R.A]

Can you elaborate more on this?

I did not know Afghanistan means Kabul only?

I sense a condescending tone here, this coming from a senior member of PDF.

By condescending you mean superior well yes Pakistan is both morally and in strength too .......................... whether you like it or not whether you accept it or not its up to you but it is.

And being senior member here on this forum is no achievement neither it matters to me, I have a real life that matters more.

If you meant to be condescending than continue with that and Iran and others will divert whatver
egress/ingress business Afghanistan has with the outside world. Business savvy people don't take a moral higher ground, they make business and in this Iran is doing exactly. While you can continue dreaming for the so called Real Rulers

What do you mean by Iran and others? Those so called rulers have access to your Kabul (they recently demonstrated it) and in comparison Kabul rulers cannot dare stepping outside their safe zones. There is a difference here ............... a huge big difference ............... and business savvy people do like secure investments with minimum risks not like what you intended to say. The truth of the matter is you (meaning Kabul) should be grateful to Pakistan for so many reasons and stop acting like whining crying whores (I can understand the Indian influence there). By the way besides crying babies what exactly Kabul produces or manufactures?

 

[A-Team]

I did not know Afghanistan means Kabul only?



By condescending you mean superior well yes Pakistan is both morally and in strength too .......................... whether you like it or not whether you accept it or not its up to you but it is.

And being senior member here on this forum is no achievement neither it matters to me, I have a real life that matters more.



What do you mean by Iran and others? Those so called rulers have access to your Kabul (they recently demonstrated it) and in comparison Kabul rulers cannot dare stepping outside their safe zones. There is a difference here ............... a huge big difference ............... and business savvy people do like secure investments with minimum risks not like what you intended to say. The truth of the matter is you (meaning Kabul) should be grateful to Pakistan for so many reasons and stop acting like whining crying whores (I can understand the Indian influence there). By the way besides crying babies what exactly Kabul produces or manufactures?

You win I am done arguing.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

well i think Afghans are and will remain close to India as long as the money is flowing in and non majorities remain in power in Kabul that means one Pushtoon encircled by Farsiwans is bad for Pakistan ... 2ndly Indians and Afghans see the history from the time when Taliban came in to power whereas it starts from way before that. 1st of all Afghans and Indians never accepted Pakistan as a country in their hearts and minds. They dreamed and believed to destroy and occupy Pakistani territories and still the situation is same. Pakistan have played soo much positive roles in uniting Afghans but the Afghan politics is heavily divided on ethnic & sectarian lines. But I think the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan should evolve put their modern history in behind and concentrate to build strong relations. its natural and the need of an hour for both countries to have good and strong relations either united or as two brother neighbours but relations with india is unnatural at the moment ... simple its not trolling this is my take on the issue ..

When Pakistan was 1st created, we started off with nothing. Anything of value and worth were all given to india by the british. We had a powerful enemy 8 times our size to our east and a hostile nation of Afghanistan to our west. At the time, Afghanistan was a fairly powerful and prosperous nation. Nearly all the nations that bordered us did not want us to exist. It was stated by many leading british, indian and Afghan political experts and leading public figures (the ghandis, lord mountbatten and alledgedly winston churchill too) that Pakistan would not exist after December 1947. NO other nation in the history of mankind born in Pakistan's circmstances has existed for more than 5 years. The founder of our nation passed away within a year of the birth of Pakistan. Pakistan was literally like a baby born virtually in a coma on a life support machine whose mother dies within a year of it's birth. Fast foward 69 years to the year 2016. Pakistan is now the world's only Muslim nuclear weapons state with a rapidly expanding and advancing nuclear weapons arsenal and missile program. We have a very powerful and advancing military force. So much so that even america (who has the world's strongest military and has publically advocated our extermination in "the plans for a new american century") and india who is 8 times our size (and has the backing of the entire west) is reluctant to invade or attack us. Pakistan has also now started the journey (thanks to our brother nation of China) to one day indigenously produce high tech and world class military equipment and technologies. Pakistan now is also on the verge of potentially becoming a world class economy thanks again to China and CPEC. Our existence, survival and rise is a miracle. Although most Pakistanis are overly critical and ungreatful of Pakistan, make no mistake about it, our enemies are fully aware of our unmatched resillience, strength, capabilities and potential. That's why our enemies can't do nothing to us even though they hate us to the core. So to the above article, PAKISTAN WILL OVERCOME AND BECOME A MAJOR POWER. Within the next 10-20 years I predict that Pakistan will see amazing progress and developments.

 

[Max]

@A-Team same can be said about Mullah Radio.. He is sending suicide bombers from Afghanistan,

and let us be honest, we dont know for how long this Pak India+Afghanistan proxy war will go on, best way to secure Pakistan is high quality fence.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

I did not know Afghanistan means Kabul only?



By condescending you mean superior well yes Pakistan is both morally and in strength too .......................... whether you like it or not whether you accept it or not its up to you but it is.

And being senior member here on this forum is no achievement neither it matters to me, I have a real life that matters more.



What do you mean by Iran and others? Those so called rulers have access to your Kabul (they recently demonstrated it) and in comparison Kabul rulers cannot dare stepping outside their safe zones. There is a difference here ............... a huge big difference ............... and business savvy people do like secure investments with minimum risks not like what you intended to say. The truth of the matter is you (meaning Kabul) should be grateful to Pakistan for so many reasons and stop acting like whining crying whores (I can understand the Indian influence there). By the way besides crying babies what exactly Kabul produces or manufactures?

Brother I agree with everything you say but not the superiority part. We wish the Afghan people well but we cannot have a relationship with a nation that is a partner of our biggest and eternel enemy. Us Pakistanis are decent, honourable and a kind loving people. We are not superior but we are very nationalistic. We are Pakistani patriots. Us Pakistanis simply want to preserve our beautiful race (which many Afghans also belong to), nation, culture, way of life and heritage. Even though our enemies try everyday, I don't want the same fate for Pakistan as has befallen our brothers and sisters in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

 

[Manidabest]

When Pakistan was 1st created, we started off with nothing. Anything of value and worth were all given to india by the british. We had a powerful enemy 8 times our size to our east and a hostile nation of Afghanistan to our west. At the time, Afghanistan was a fairly powerful and prosperous nation. Nearly all the nations that bordered us did not want us to exist. It was stated by many leading british, indian and Afghan political experts and leading public figures (the ghandis, lord mountbatten and alledgedly winston churchill too) that Pakistan would not exist after December 1947. NO other nation in the history of mankind born in Pakistan's circmstances has existed for more than 5 years. The founder of our nation passed away within a year of the birth of Pakistan. Pakistan was literally like a baby born virtually in a coma on a life support machine whose mother dies within a year of it's birth. Fast foward 69 years to the year 2016. Pakistan is now the world's only Muslim nuclear weapons state with a rapidly expanding and advancing nuclear weapons arsenal and missile program. We have a very powerful and advancing military force. So much so that even america (who has the world's strongest military and has publically advocated our extermination in "the plans for a new american century") and india who is 8 times our size (and has the backing of the entire west) is reluctant to invade or attack us. Pakistan has also now started the journey (thanks to our brother nation of China) to one day indigenously produce high tech and world class military equipment and technologies. Pakistan now is also on the verge of potentially becoming a world class economy thanks again to China and CPEC. Our existence, survival and rise is a miracle. Although most Pakistanis are overly critical and ungreatful of Pakistan, make no mistake about it but our enemies are fully aware of our unmatched resillience, strength, capabilities and potential. That's why our enemies can't do nothing to us even though they hate us to the core. So to the above article, PAKISTAN WILL OVERCOME AND BECOME A MAJOR POWER. Within the next 10-20 years I predict that Pakistan will see amazing progress and developments.

my brother my article was not against Pakistan or any other country but a mere fact .. and i say thanks to Allah for giving us good friends like China & Turkey...

 

[I.R.A]

Brother I agree with everything you say but not the superiority part. We wish the Afghan people well but we cannot have a relationship with a nation that is a partner of our biggest and eternel enemy. Us Pakistanis are decent, honourable and a kind loving people. We are not superior but we are very nationalistic. We are Pakistani patriots. Us Pakistanis simply want to preserve our beautiful race (which many Afghans also belong to), nation, culture, way of life and heritage. Even though our enemies try everyday, I don't want the same fate for Pakistan as has befallen our brothers and sisters in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

With all the respect bro this is true and it is time to teach them that Pakistan is superior morally and in strength. You agree to it or not is your opinion but history and facts cannot deny this and Pakistan has proven it. The time for being nice and thinking good for them has long gone it is time they realise and come to terms with us, showing love and care has earned us nothing so better adopt the hard way to save us both.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

From reading what the Afghan members on PDF are posting it is very clear that Afghans have no idea about the level of hatred between Pakistan and india. Let me make it clear to those of you that don't know.
PAKISTAN & india hate eachother more than israelis and Palestinians do. The hatred between Pakistanis and indians is everlasting and eternal. It will never end. No person, nation or power on earth can change that. The hatred between Pakistan and indians is the most powerful and intense hatred between any 2 sets of people on earth. Please understand this. There is no compromise on this. There is no compromise on the survival of Pakistan and our beautiful Pakistani race.

With all the respect bro this is true and it is time to teach them that Pakistan is superior morally and in strength. You agree to it or not is your opinion but history and facts cannot deny this and Pakistan has proven it. The time for being nice and thinking good for them has long gone it is time they realise and come to terms with us, showing love and care has earned us nothing so better adopt the hard way to save us both.

With a heavy heart I agree with you brother. Wish things were different though.