CENTCOM
PROFESSIONAL
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2010
- Messages
- 1,519
- Reaction score
- 34
- Country
- Location
Pakistan and Afghanistan has centuries old historical, cultural, linguistic, religious and geographic ties. In Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, divided families have lived on both sides of the border. It is a fact that common people from both sides of the border fought the intruders from the west and drove them off. Today, both countries are faced with many challenges internally as well as externally. And no one will deny that both nations need each others help to overcome some of these common challenges.
It is important for both countries to work together for the progress of each other. As the drawdown approaches, there are anxieties on both sides, but we must recognize that the United States has promised that they will help both countries overcome all the challenges.
President Hamid Karzai has described Pakistan and Afghanistan as inseparable brothers. Both countries can build on this. Afghanistan needs Pakistani seaports for its trade. Remember in July 2010, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the Afghan-Pak Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), which was observed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The two states also signed a MoU for the construction of rail tracks in Afghanistan to connect with Pakistan Railways (PR), which has been in the making since at least 2005. In October 2010, the landmark APTTA agreement was signed by Pakistani Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Afghan Ministry of Commerce. The ceremony was attended by the late Richard Holbrooke, the then U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a number of foreign ambassadors, Afghan parliamentarians and senior officials. The APTTA allows Afghan trucks to drive inside Pakistan to the Wagah border with India, including to the port cities of Karachi and Gwadar.
In July 2012, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to extend APTTA to Tajikistan in what will be the first step for the establishment of a North-South trade corridor. The proposed agreement will provide facilities to Tajikistan to use Pakistans Gwadar and Karachi ports for its imports and exports, while Pakistan will enjoy trade with Tajikistan under terms similar to the transit arrangement with Afghanistan. Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is expected to reach $5 billion by 2015.
Pakistan and Afghanistan need to work on the recent years of successful ventures and build on them, and more importantly, work to improve border cooperation to curb the biggest menace of terrorism that has plagued both countries for decades now. That will ensure success and opportunity for the people on both sides of the border.
Abdul Quddus
DET-United States Central Command,
U.S. Central Command
It is important for both countries to work together for the progress of each other. As the drawdown approaches, there are anxieties on both sides, but we must recognize that the United States has promised that they will help both countries overcome all the challenges.
President Hamid Karzai has described Pakistan and Afghanistan as inseparable brothers. Both countries can build on this. Afghanistan needs Pakistani seaports for its trade. Remember in July 2010, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the Afghan-Pak Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), which was observed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The two states also signed a MoU for the construction of rail tracks in Afghanistan to connect with Pakistan Railways (PR), which has been in the making since at least 2005. In October 2010, the landmark APTTA agreement was signed by Pakistani Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Afghan Ministry of Commerce. The ceremony was attended by the late Richard Holbrooke, the then U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a number of foreign ambassadors, Afghan parliamentarians and senior officials. The APTTA allows Afghan trucks to drive inside Pakistan to the Wagah border with India, including to the port cities of Karachi and Gwadar.
In July 2012, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to extend APTTA to Tajikistan in what will be the first step for the establishment of a North-South trade corridor. The proposed agreement will provide facilities to Tajikistan to use Pakistans Gwadar and Karachi ports for its imports and exports, while Pakistan will enjoy trade with Tajikistan under terms similar to the transit arrangement with Afghanistan. Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is expected to reach $5 billion by 2015.
Pakistan and Afghanistan need to work on the recent years of successful ventures and build on them, and more importantly, work to improve border cooperation to curb the biggest menace of terrorism that has plagued both countries for decades now. That will ensure success and opportunity for the people on both sides of the border.
Abdul Quddus
DET-United States Central Command,
U.S. Central Command
