Pakistan-Afghanistan economic interdependence and implementation of APTTA: Governance performance and institutional constraints in Pakistan (2021 -2025)
Keywords:
APTTA, Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade, Trade Governance, Customs Modernization, Border Management, Transit Trade Facilitation.Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine how Pakistan implemented the AfghanistanPakistan Trade and Transit Agreement (APTTA) during 2015-2025 by assessing the extent to which its governance and institutional frameworks were able to provide sustained, predictable and efficient trade and transit cooperation. Employing a qualitative institutional analysis based on policy review, trade and transit trend assessment and analysis of government and international reports, the paper evaluates modernization of customs, border infrastructure, transit routes and administrative coordination. Findings indicate that Pakistan has made significant progress through Web-Based One Customs (WeBOC), Pakistan Single Window (PSW), cargo tracking systems, operationalization of Gwadar Port, opening of Ghulam Khan Border Crossing Point (BCP) and infrastructure development at Torkham and Chaman. However, implementation remained inconsistent due to bureaucratic delays, infrastructural bottlenecks, road freight dependence, limited capacity of dry-ports and fragmented inter-agency coordination. The paper concludes that success of APTTA was influenced more by governance continuity, sustained implementation and infrastructure capacity than by the agreement’s design. These findings emphasize that institutional resilience is essential to sustain transit cooperation in politically and security-sensitive environments.
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