According to a notification issued by Pakistan's Interior ministry, Taftan border shall remain open seven days a week for trade only while ensuring proper SOPs and guidelines.
Earlier an official statement said that on the intervention of the Speaker of National Assembly and the Special Committee on Agricultural Products various issues faced by Mango exporters and farmers have been resolved.
“The Iran Border will remain open for entire week and extended time to export mango; PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) Freight Charges for mango export drastically reduced and Provincial Agricultural Departments Convened to devise mechanism for subsidy disbursement,” it said.
This was decided in a meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products presided by the Speaker of National Assembly today at Parliament House.
The statement said that the Committee in its previous meeting recommended that the Ministry of Interior should take appropriate and urgent trade-facilitative measures for opening and operation of Taftan border throughout the week during the mango season with extended timings to facilitate mango exports to Iran.
The Speaker of National Assembly also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to take cognizance of the matter and direct the concerned ministries to facilitate the mango exporters.
The Ministry of Interior assured that the decision pertaining to Taftan border opening throughout the week will be immediately notified.
Asad Qaiser added that that mango was a perishable commodity and procedural delays or logistical hurdles cost million to national exchequer. He added that no delay in border opening and trade facilitation will be tolerated.
The Committee in the last meeting urged CEO PIA to reduce the freight charges for mango export to facilitate the farmers and exporters.
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