Pak rejects opening Wagah border for Indo-Afghan trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected India's request to open the Wagah border point trade route for export of its goods to Afghanistan saying the option does not suit Islamabad at present.

Despite strong insistence from New Delhi, Islamabad during the recent foreign secretary-level talks in New Delhi was not willing to allow the use of Wagah border as transit route for trade with Afghanistan and stuck to its policy that India should use Karachi port instead for trade with Afghanistan.

Pakistan did not accept the request, saying the option does not suit it at this point of time, local daily 'The Post' quoted officials as saying.

Islamabad currently allows Kabul to export items to New Delhi by using Pakistan's land routes but do not permit Indian exports to be transported through the same route.

Pakistan says India could use Karachi from where it has transportation facilities for land-locked Afghanistan but India prefers the land route as it reduced the costs.

Most of the Indian goods for Afghanistan and Central Asia are routed through Chabahar port in Iran.

India can use only Karachi port for trade with Afghanistan.

Besides India, Afghan President Hamid Karzai too has asked Pakistan to open the road.