ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is fast losing out to India and China in terms ofcountries with the largest share in trade with Afghanistan. ZubairMotiwala, Chairman of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce andIndustry, has been quoted as saying India, in particular, has managed topenetrate Afghan market by subsidising its exports to Kabul.

He has said that Afghans find it easier to travel to India with cheapertickets and multiple-entry visa, and that medical tourism has seen aparadigm shift.

“Medical tourism of Peshawar, which was mainly due to Afghans, is now atzero level; hospitals in Hayatabad are empty,” he said.

Domestic industries in Pakistan which flourished due to trade withAfghanistan has also reportedly suffered major setbacks. Of 200 flour millsin Pakistan which catered to Afghanistan for instance, 100 have reportedlyshut down. Motiwala has further elaborated that at bilateral trade’s peak,70,000 containers from Pakistan to Afghanistan was the usual figure. Now,it it’s 7,000.

The drastic and dramatic fall in trade share with Afghanistan may well bePakistan’s own doing.

India bypassed Pakistan by opting to trade with Afghanistan through theChabahar Port in Iran. The first indian consignemnt reached the Afghan cityof Zaranj last November and was hailed by both nations as a start of biggerand better things.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has largely gone from being an active player to a beingon the sidelines. The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreementcontinues to be mostly confined to bilateral meetings with not muchmaterialising on the ground. Little surprise then that other playersstepped up and have snatched the mantle away.