Islamabad: Pak-Afghan Friendship Executive Committee begins meeting of task forces on tracking and scanning of containers bound for Afghanistan and imposition of demurrage charges.

The task force meetings were attended by members of the National Assembly, Arbab Shehzad, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Staples, Sadiq Khan, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to Afghanistan, and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and Trade. Representatives of trade organizations also attended the meetings. The Tracking Task Force will review issues encountered in the process of tracking and scanning cargo containers bound for Afghanistan.

 The task force will make recommendations for developing a system for early clearance of containers. The demerge task force will also review fines imposed for delays in clearance of containers and make recommendations for resolving them. The task forces will present their recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Pak-Afghan Friendship Group, which will meet next week at Parliament House under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.