Entry of 2,000 stranded trucks into Pakistan sought

PESHAWAR: The business community has asked the Afghan border authorities to allow hundreds of trucks and containers stranded on its side of the border for nearly two months to enter Pakistan.

Vice-President of All Pakistan Customs Agents and President Frontier Customs Agents Group Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, through a statement, said that the Afghan border authorities had stopped the trucks and containers.

He said that around 2,000 trucks and empty containers had been stopped and parked in Khwar Maidan area on the Afghanistan side of the border since September 5 last.

He alleged that the Afghan authorities demanded Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 from the drivers of each truck to allow them to enter Pakistan.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said that the trucks and containers were stopped on the pretext to allow the trucks loaded with fresh fruit, coal and other goods to enter Pakistan.

The business community leader said the practice

was causing a huge loss to

the Pakistani traders as

they had to pay

detention charges to the shipping companies if a container was not returned to them in 14 days.

The traders paid up to Rs150,000 per container, which was causing huge financial losses to the business community, Sarhadi elaborated.