*LAHORE: *Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and IndustrySecretary General Faiza Zubair while talking to members of the LahoreChamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said smuggling should be dealt withfirmly as it was equally destructive for both countries.

She said the regulatory duty imposed by Afghanistan on Pakistani goods was400 times more than the duty imposed by Pakistan on Afghan products, addingmutual trade could not grow in the presence of such a duty structure.

Zubair was of the view that there was a need for an export house for checksand balances, which would ensure quality specifications of export goods ofboth the countries before full payments to overcome the trust deficit.

She proposed a grand meeting of all chambers of Pakistan very soon todiscuss export issues.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI Acting President Khawaja Khawar Rashid saidbilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were very importantfor peace and development in the region.

“If relations between the two countries are not good due to some internalor external reasons, they directly affect bilateral trade and transittrade,” he remarked.

Rashid said Pakistan was the best option for exports and imports forAfghanistan. Sharing numbers, he said in 2010-11, the total volume oftransit trade was $3.8 billion, which stood at $3.5 billion in 2015-16.

In 2016-17, the trade volume fell to $2.9 billion, but he voiced hope thatit would reach $3 billion by the end of 2017-18.