Taliban stop imports, exports from India through Pakistan’s transit routes
“We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, Taliban has stopped movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have been stopped,”Ajay Sahai, FIEO’s director general, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) said on Thursday that the Taliban have stopped all imports and exports from India through transit routes of Pakistan as they gained control over Afghanistan in recent days.
“We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, Taliban has stopped movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have been stopped,”Ajay Sahai, FIEO’s director general, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The FIEO said that prices of dry fruits in India might increase in the near future as the country imports about 85 per cent of these commodities from Afghanistan.
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With regard to exports, Sahai said some goods were being exported through the international North-South Corridor and other goods were going through the Dubai route. Pointing out that India has healthy trade-relations with Afghanistan, Sahai said that exports to the latter were worth around $835 million for 2021.
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“We imported goods worth around USD 510 million. But besides the trade, we have a sizeable investment in Afghanistan. We have invested around USD 3 billion in Afghanistan and there are 400-odd projects in Afghanistan some of which are currently going on,” he further told ANI and was optimistic about the trade relations despite the worsening crisis in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar said that the government is closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan, adding that the focus is on ensuring security and safe return of Indian nationals who are still there.
Scores of Indian nationals are still stuck in Afghanistan with officials saying that they will be repatriated once commercial flights resume in Kabul airport. “The Government of India is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals and will institute flight arrangements once Kabul airport is open for commercial operations,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
