Afghan, Pakistani officials hammer out transit agreement to facilitate trade

Afghanistan and Pakistan trade and transit officials met earlier this month to discuss the implementation of Temporary Admission Document (TAD) which would enable free movement of cargo trucks between the two countries.

Via video link on March 1, Afghanistan’s acting minister of industry and commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, and Pakistan’s advisor to the prime minister of Pakistan on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, also discussed “the finalization of APTTA and other trade and transit matters”, the Pakistan government said in a statement Wednesday.

“Both sides agreed to allow free movement of trucks between Afghanistan & Pakistan subject to agreed modalities via TAD procedure and cross stuffing, effective from 21st March 2022,” read the statement.

“Transporters from Afghanistan side can apply to obtain TAD from Pak-Embassy at Kabul & consulate in Kandahar. Transporters from Pakistan side can apply to obtain TAD from Consulates of Afghanistan based in Peshawar & Quetta.”

Both sides termed it to be a historic moment and said they were committed to chart out a joint road map for the resolution of pending transit and trade issues.

The Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (also known as APTTA) is a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan that calls for greater facilitation in the movement of goods amongst the two countries.