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Pakistan Airlines suspends Afghan operations citing IEA interference

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(Last Updated On: October 15, 2021)

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suspended flights to the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday after what it called heavy handed interference by Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) authorities.

The suspension took place after the IEA government ordered the airline, the only international company operating regularly out of Kabul, to cut ticket prices to levels seen before the fall of the Western-backed Afghan government in August.

“We are suspending our flight operations to Kabul from today because of the heavy handedness of the authorities,” a spokesman told Reuters.

Earlier, the IEA warned PIA and Afghan carrier Kam Air that their Afghan operations risked being blocked unless they agreed to cut ticket prices, which have spiralled to levels out of reach for most Afghans.

With most airlines no longer flying to Afghanistan, tickets for flights to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, have been selling for as much as $2,500 on PIA, according to travel agents in Kabul, compared with $120-$150 before.

The Afghan transport ministry said in a statement prices on the route should “be adjusted to correspond with the conditions of a ticket before the victory of the Islamic Emirate” or the flights would be stopped.

It urged passengers and others to report any violations.

PIA, which runs chartered flights to Kabul rather than regular commercial services, said it had maintained the flights on “humanitarian grounds” and faced insurance premiums of as much as $400,000 per flight, Reuters reported.

“The insurance premiums on these flights are so high that it is simply impossible to operate scheduled flights to Kabul, as it is still considered a war zone by aircraft insurance companies and lessors,” the company said in a statement.

No comment was immediately available from Kam Air.

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Pakistan’s commerce delegation wraps up ‘successful’ trip to Kabul

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani said in a video message on Wednesday that the recent talks between Islamabad’s commerce delegation and Afghan officials had been “successful” and that he hoped this would give fresh impetus to bilateral trade between the two countries.

“I’m happy to report that this was a successful visit and both sides have agreed to work together for mutual benefit on a number of areas.

“They will facilitate transit, they will facilitate bilateral trade and they will take all possible measures that create an environment for continuous and productive trade and economic relations between the two countries,” he said.

The delegation, led by Commerce Ministry Secretary Khurram Agha, arrived in Kabul on Monday and had numerous talks on various issues with Islamic Emirate officials.

The visit came amid deteriorating bilateral relations following several suicide attacks in Pakistan in the last couple of months that Islamabad attributes to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, a group they claim is based in Afghanistan.

Diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the last few months have led to economic losses, as key border crossings for trade and travel have closed intermittently, resulting in goods trucks being held up at border posts.

Afghanistan’s Minister for Industry and Commerce Nurudin Azizi meanwhile said the IEA had held fruitful negotiations in a cordial environment with the visiting delegation.

“We discussed in detail with the Pakistani side specific issues related to heavy transport vehicles that will be resolved,” he said.

“We will achieve positive results as our discussions remained productive.”

Azizi said Afghanistan expected to sign a formal agreement with Pakistan within six months, allowing Pakistani trucks to enter Afghanistan and travel to the Central Asian states and Afghan trucks to go all the way to the Pakistani port cities of Karachi and Gwadar.

Apart from discussing trade-related issues, the two sides also focused on movement of passengers, patients and businesspeople across their common border during these talks.

Azizi noted uninterrupted trade and business between Kabul and Islamabad would play a significant role in creating a peaceful environment between the two countries and facilitate their economic development.

He said the two sides also pledged to enhance their existing trade volume, adding that both countries could become ideal markets for each other if they did not allow business to be affected by any geopolitical tensions.

Azizi also said Afghanistan could export agricultural products to China and other countries via Pakistan’s ports and cities.

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Turkey’s 77 keen to start up cement plant in Jawzjan

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(Last Updated On: March 27, 2024)

Turkish construction company 77 officials have met with the acting minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar, about investing in a cement factory in Yatim Taq area of Jawzjan province.

The minister, Shahabuddin Dalawar, has said the ministry will cooperate with the company but first needs a proposal, including details around how they plan to implement the project as well as social development plans.

Turkey’s 77 company has been working on electricity generation projects in Afghanistan for several years.

A number of industrialists say that if more investment is made in the cement production sector, not only will domestic demand be met, but the country’s cement will also be exported.

At the moment, cement is being produced by private companies in the provinces of Kandahar, Parwan and Herat.

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Pakistan delegation discusses solutions with Azizi to resolve trade issues

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(Last Updated On: March 26, 2024)

Officials of the Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday held a meeting with the visiting delegation of Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce where they discussed challenges around trade relations between the two countries.

The Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi said due to recent political tensions, trade and transit relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have faced problems. He said efforts are being made to find solutions to the existing problems and to distance political issues from trade issues.

The visiting delegation is in Kabul at the invitation of the ministry of commerce and industry.

Azizi said the Pakistani delegation said at the meeting that all commercial, transit and economic issues between the two countries will be discussed and efforts will be made to keep trade issues separate from political issues.

“We want to talk about issues that are especially in the field of trade and transit, and we want to prioritize all issues related to trade, we are trying to separate trade and transit from political issues,” said Azizi.

He also expressed hope that his meeting with the Pakistani delegation will help solve the existing challenges and improve and expand trade and transit relations between the two countries.

According to economic experts, since Afghanistan is a transit route between Central Asia and South Asia, the Islamic Emirate can use it to pressurize Pakistan so as not to create trade problems.

“Pressure should be put on Pakistan with the same means we have so that the agreement signed between us and Pakistan and they are forced to comply. We must use this agreement and use it correctly and we should be emotional and not say hostile words, but we want our right,” said Seyed Masoud, an economic expert.

Officials from the ministry also said that talks were held on other issues, including implementing the PTA preferential trade agreement or TAD, finalizing negotiations about APPTA, determining the date of air transit, 24-hour operations in the ports of Torkham, Chaman, and Spin Boldak.

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