ISLAMABAD: A 12-member Pakistani official delegation including Secretary Commerce Sualeh Ahmad Faruqui and Secretary Power Rashid Mehmood Langrial is leaving for Kabul on Monday (today) for a three-day visit (July 18-20) for talks on import of coal for power generation, besides matters related to bilateral and transit trade, well-informed sources said.
Sharing the details, sources said that government took the initiative to explore the possibility of import of coal from Afghanistan. In this regard, Prime Minister’s Office constituted a Committee under the Minister for Defence.
During the third meeting of Border Management Committee (BMC) under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Asif it was decided that engagement with Government of Afghanistan is required to streamline border management issues for speedy trade flow. It was also decided that a working level delegation will be sent to Afghanistan to discuss the issues related to cross-border trade of coal.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Office on July 6, 2022 conveyed the approval of Prime Minister for the visit of the following delegation to Afghanistan to discuss the issue related with cross border trade of coal: (i) Secretary Commerce (Lead); (ii) Additional Secretary-1, Power Division; (iii) representatives from Military Operation Directorate; (iv) representatives from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI); (v) Director General Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; (vi) Riaz Ahmed Khan, Joint Secretary (PE/FIA), Ministry of Interior; (vii) Mariya Qazi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce; (viii) Brig Muhammad Abid, Director Border Terminals, NLC; and (ix) Ahmed Raza Khan, Chief Collector KPK, FBR.
