Kurram Agency elders seek reopening of trade route

PARACHINAR: A jirga of tribal elders in Kurram Agency on Sunday demanded reopening of the Pak-Afghan border at Borki village for trade.

Speaking at the jirga, the tribal elders including Haji Nauroz Ali, Haji Kamal Hussain, Malik Islam and others said that the Borki route on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan had been used for trade since the British era in the region.

They said that Borki tribe had offered 200 acres of land for establishing a complex for the promotion of Pak-Afghan trade but the National Logistics Cell had rejected the offer and instead purchased controversial land in Kharlachi village on the border.

The elders said that the Borki route had been used for trade for the last 400 years.

They accused the National Logistics Cell officials of pitting the tribes against each other for their personal gains by preferring one route on the Pak-Afghan border over the other.

They warned of launching a protest campaign if the Borki route was not opened for trade.