PESHAWAR, May 17: Afghan Consul General in Peshawar Mohammad Ibrahinkhel on Thursday said long delay in shipment of transit goods to his country from Pakistan was a major concern for his compatriots.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the two-day national conference on ‘Pak-Afghan Transit Trade and its Dynamics, Challenges and Prospects’, which was organised by the Political Science Department of the University of Peshawar on its campus.

Mr Ibrahimkhel said most transit trade goods had been lying at Karachi Port and Port Qasim for months. He said mostly, shipment delays increased the rent so much that it exceeded the price of transit goods.

“It is a matter of concern for us,” he said, demanding timely shipment of transit goods to Afghanistan.

The Afghan diplomat requested the Pakistani government to allow timely supply of goods to Afghanistan after its thorough checking. He regretted that around 7,000 textbooks to be provided to Afghan students for the new academic year lied at Karachi Port. He demanded early shipment of those books to the benefit of Afghan students.

Mr Ibrahimkhel said war of terrorism had badly affected basic infrastructure in Afghanistan so Islamabad should join hands with Kabul for Afghan reconstruction and restoration of peace.

He said a good number of Pakistani workers were employed in Afghanistan and getting good cash reward in return, too. “We have untapped natural resources valuing trillions of dollars so Pakistani investors must come up to launch ventures in Afghanistan,” he said.

Also in attendance, senior journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai declared Afghanistan a big market for Pakistani goods and services.

He said Pakistan couldn’t stop transit trade to Afghanistan but should check supply of products with no demand there. Mr Yousafzai complained of weak border management and weak governance and said people on both sides of the border suffered from them. He said trade among neighbours was vital to ease tensions and make progress.

Dr Waqar of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, made a presentation on ‘Transit Trade or a Smuggling Bonanza’ and said there were 150 checkpoints and several markets along the Pak-Afghan border.

He said these markets had around 10,000 shops, where non-custom paid products were traded without let or hindrance.

Dr Waqar called for installation of scanners on border checkpoints, imposition of a lump sum tax and crackdown on ‘Bara Markets’ to check smuggling and thus, benefiting local industries.

University of Peshawar vice chancellor Professor Dr Qibla Ayaz thanked speakers and the conference organiser, Professor Dr AZ Hilali, for thought-provoking discussions on a cruicial issue.