Iran trade with Pakistan not to be affected by Taliban
The Taliban rule in Afghanistan will not affect Iran and Pakistan trade, said a member of Iran and Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce said.
Speaking to ILNA, Mahmoud Tohidast said that Taliban’s condition and status in the world is uncertain and it needs to provide the essential needs of 38 million Afghans and it has to provide them through Afghanistan’s neighboring countries like Iran and Pakistan. He went on to say that Pakistan has itself shortage of food stuff and other goods and therefore, the Taliban needs goods from Iran.
On the effects of the Taliban ruling in Afghanistan on Iran’s trade with Pakistan, Tohidast said that it seems it will not affect the trade between Iran and Pakistan because years ago when the Taliban was in power, the trade between Iran and Pakistan was normal and it does not seem the Taliban to create tension in the borders and Pakistan has also shown in the past that it does not like border tensions.
He added that currently the condition of Iran’s borders with Pakistan is good and there is no border and borders with Afghanistan were closed for a couple of days after the Taliban took power and now they are open and trade exchanges with Pakistan continue but the rise and fall of trade exchanges depends on several factors like the pandemic, forex rate and the price of commodity.
On the current condition of trade between Iran and Pakistan, Tohidast said that due to the rise of prices and forex rate in the country it seems exports of Iran to Pakistan in terms of its rial value has increased but on the whole the mentioned factors as well as the change in the regulations are decisive in the volume of trade between the two states.
He reiterated that if the government lifts ban on imports of rice from Pakistan, the trade exchange between the two countries will increase. He said currently due to the season of harvest of rice, the officials have imposed ban on import of rice and it is not a good law because it helps the price of the domestic produced rice to rise excessively and middlemen and rent-seekers benefit it.
Tohoidast noted that lift of ban on import of rice will be in favor of the domestic consumers and boosting bilateral trade with Pakistan.
Earlier this month and in meeting with the Chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Sadiq Sanjarani, Iran’s President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi assured that the obstacles towards promotion of regional trade with Pakistan would be removed and problems faced in uninterrupted supply of electricity to areas of Balochistan would be resolved immediately.
END