Daily Times

SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday said that Pakistan and Iran had shown unforgettable generosity in hosting millions of Afghans reminding the rest of the world to come forward and help Afghanistan.

This was stated by the President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik on Sunday while talking to a trader delegation led by Chaudhry Kaleem Ullah Anjum Arain. He said that the 57 nation OIC which met in Islamabad recently resolved to work with the UN to get the entire frozen assets unlocked. He said that the money was critically needed to sustain, stabilize and revive the Afghan economy and to save millions of lives of poor and hungry Afghan children, women and men. He said that would be the most effective and generous display of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. He underlined the need to jump-start Afghanistan’s economy through increased liquidity and called upon the world especially Europe and US must pull the economy back from the brink by freeing up entire frozen currency reserves and re-engaging Afghanistan Central Bank.

Iftikhar Ali Malik said that international funding must be allowed to pay the salaries of public sector employees. He said, adding that the Afghan economy was enduring a bitter winter of its own. He warned that the Afghan currency could go into free fall and the country could lose 30 percent of its GDP within the year. He said that Pakistan, on the request of the SAARC Chamber, had abolished the majority of taxes on Afghan transit trade while remaining customs duties were highly slashed to the maximum extent to provide solace to the traders of the war-torn country.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan also allowed certain items for Pak Afghan trade in Pak currency with the sole objective of facilitating them besides fully ensuring smooth flow of clearance of imported and exported items at land border points. Iftikhar Ali Malik further added that the free supply of food and medicines consignments were being supplied to Afghanistan by Pakistan and the pharmaceutical companies of Karachi and Lahore.