Accepting Pakistan's request, the interim government of Bangladesh has 'delisted' all the products of that country in terms of import. According to sources, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) announced this decision in a statement on September 29. In 2009, Bangladesh imposed several restrictions on the import of Pakistani goods. The then Sheikh Hasina government said that the move was due to security reasons. A section claims that Dhaka's closeness with Islamabad started to increase immediately after Hasina's farewell on August 5. The lifting of the ban on the import of Pak products is believed to be part of that trend.
The statement of the National Board of Revenue said, 'For so long, only Pakistani goods were in the 'red lane' in terms of imports to Dhaka. It has been decided to delist all Pakistani products as they pass the National Selectivity Criteria. Why suddenly felt the need to make this decision?
In explanation, NBR said that this step has been taken to make import and clearance of daily necessities easier. Which means, Pakistani products will enter Bangladesh with virtually no inspection from now on. According to NBR sources, on September 10, Pak High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maruf met with Finance Advisor Salehuddin.
At that time, the Pak High Commissioner called for strengthening the stagnant bilateral trade relations with Bangladesh. Salehuddin Ahmed also said, 'The trade between the two countries was stagnant for a long time due to various reasons. As Pakistan has come forward on its own, Dhaka is also interested in starting trade again.
But allowing all Pakistani products to enter without surveillance means that illegal weapons and drugs can enter Bangladesh! New Delhi is seeing a vermilion cloud due to that fear. Some traders in Dhaka, however, feel that if the barrier to import of Pak products is removed, it will be easier to import raw materials to factories in Bangladesh. Pakistan has a large market for cotton, yarn, cloth as well as baby food, juice, cutlery and surgical instruments in Bangladesh.
According to sources, Pakistanis have invested billions of dollars in the leather, textile and garment sector of Bangladesh. Again in 2023, more than 63.3 million dollars worth of products have been exported from Bangladesh to Pakistan.
