Federal Cabinet Permits Transit of Banned Auto Parts to Kabul

The Federal Cabinet has granted permission for the passage of 40 feet containers containing banned auto parts into Afghanistan upon the request of the World Food Program (WFP). These banned spare parts are intended for a fleet of Renault trucks utilized by the WFP.

While concerns were raised by cabinet members regarding the possibility of these items being smuggled back into the country, the cabinet decided to allow their transport based on the WFP’s specific request.

Although there is no specific list of prohibited items in the Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA-2010), the Ministry of Commerce has enforced restrictions on the transit of these particular items since 2004 as a measure to combat smuggling.

However, the cabinet has previously granted permission for the transport of such items upon requests from various international organizations like UNHCR, UNAMA, and WHO.

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In 2017, the Ministry of Commerce proposed that the Federal Minister of Commerce should be authorized to approve such shipments after ensuring there is no associated commercial value, instead of referring the matter to the cabinet. However, the cabinet insisted on assessing each case individually.

While concerns were expressed by cabinet members about the potential smuggling of these spare parts back into the local market, they were assured that this was a one-time exception specifically for the WFP and limited to a single container.

Subsequently, the cabinet approved the summary for the transshipment of the container that arrived at Karachi Port last month.