Pakistan, July 31 -- Pakistan's deletion from the Joint War Committee's Listed Areas should be measured in freight invoices. On Wednesday, the London market's JWC removed Pakistan from a list that had marked it as an enhanced war-risk area for two decades after the US declared its war on terror following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Vessels entering a listed area can face additional insurance arrangements and charges, biting into already slender export margins. Credit is due to the maritime ministry's committee for pursuing a technical case that governments had allowed to linger for too long.

The gain needs a precise reading. The JWC does not set a mandatory premium and its circular says application to individual contracts is a matter for ...