OBSERVER REPORT
BEIJING Pakistani ports such as Gwadar, Karachi and Qasim did not get boxed in as the COVID-19 pandemic haunted all human beings. Located beside the key shipping routes in and out of the Persian Gulf, Gwadar Port which strives to become a vibrant transit and transshipment port, took actions since COVID-19 did shake Pakistan’s economy. According to Gwadar Pro App, at the request of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PAJCCI), Gwadar International Terminals Limited and other stakeholders, government allowed import of Afghan bulk cargo of wheat, sugar and fertilisers at the Gwadar Port, and onward transit to Afghanistan from April 17. “The petitions have been examined in light of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) 2010, and in view of the provisions of the APTTA, the petitions of the stakeholders, and for the sake of efficient and cost-effective operationali-zation of the Gwadar Port and the western-corridor of the CPEC, the import of Afghan bulkcargo of wheat, sugar and fertilisers at the Gwadar Port and onward transit to Afghanistan shall be permitted in bonded carrier, insured and sealable trucks having a tracking device installed on them,” the office memorandum noted. In addition to Gwadar Port, Karachi Port and Port Qasim, Pakistan’s two main operating international deep-sea ports, also adopted measures to tackle the current economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
