Experts for Pak-Afghan economic ties to be based on people-to-people contacts.

ISLAMABAD -- The experts on Monday said Pakistan's economic ties with Afghanistan should be based on the policies driven by the agenda set by the traders, economists, and businessmen from both sides.

The experts made the remarks while discussing the political and economic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan during a webinar titled 'Pak-Afghan Economic Ties: Opening New Vistas' organized here by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI).

Director of the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) Amina Khan, while addressing the panel said that Afghanistan and Pakistan had unique relation as both countries complement each others in terms of trade and economic opportunities through bilateral and transit trade.

She said that since August 2021, Afghan exports to Pakistan jumping from $550 million to $700 million while Pakistani exports to Afghanistan declined due to ongoing US sanctions, absence of banking channels and unavailability of dollars in Afghanistan, as well as a drop-in demand for certain Pakistani goods.

She concluded that despite the current hurdles and imbalances in trade, a lot more could be done to further explore the true potential of trade between the two countries through bilateral and transit trade.

Ambassador Mansoor Ahmed Khan, while expressing his views said that Pakistan and Afghanistan had not explored the connectivity advantage substantially as four decades of war added impediments.

Peace, stability and development could not be realized in the 1990s and after August 15, 2021, peace was there but regional tensions remain, he added.

Pakistan's Former Ambassador to Afghanistan Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb in his remarks said that Pakistan and Afghanistan had seen difficult times during last few years amid...