Declining business activities: Traders seek removal of hurdles at Torkham border

LANDIKOTAL: Traders and businessmen on Friday asked the Pakistan and Afghan governments to help remove hurdles at Torkham border crossing hampering business activities.

They were speaking at a meeting held at Torkham border. The meeting was attended by the members of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Torkham customs officials, customs agents and Afghan businessmen and border authorities also attended the meeting, which was held in line with the directives of Collector Customs (Appraisement) Peshawar Muhammad Ashfaq.Additional Collector Appraisement Torkham Muhammad Rizwan chaired the meeting.Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, senior vice president, Khalid Shezad, former president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Faiz Muhammad Faizi, Superintendent Torkham Haleemullah and Torkham Transport president Azeemullah Shinwari attended the meeting from Pakistan’s side.

Director Afghan Customs Torkham Muslim Khaksar, Qari Abdul Samad, Qari Zahid, Asmatullah, Maulvi Muhammad Yasir, Ziaullah and others were also invited to the meeting held at Pakistani side of the Torkham border. Both Pakistani and Afghan traders and exporters questioned strict conditions and called for removing the hurdles being faced by transporters and businessmen at Torkham border.They termed the hurdlers at the border hampering trade activities and causing drastic decline in commerce and trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The main objective of the meeting was to share views and create opportunities for the business communities from the two countries in addition to finding sustainable and durable solutions to the problems hindering bilateral trade via Torkham border crossing. Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said that a number of problems Pakistani and Afghan businessmen have been facing for the last so many years but yet could not address it on priority basis.He said a large number of the trucks transported goods to Afghanistan have been detained along with the empty containers in various areas of the Afghan city of Jalalabad. Sarhadi said more than 2,500 to 3,000 trucks and containers were still illegally parked in Khawar Maidan area in Jalalabad in Afghanistan, paying Rs150,000 as damages per month.

He said the shipping companies were also charging an amount of US dollar 120 per day over the delay in return of the empty container, inflicting huge losses on the business community. He demanded the Afghan government to release the trucks detained in Jalalabad. The meeting also discussed the pendency of Transit Documentation (T-1) of trucks carrying goods to Afghanistan. They said that T-1 of more than 30,000 to 40,000 trucks was pending and had slowed down the clearance process. Assistant Director Torkham Customs Iqra Shaukat briefed the Afghan officials on the T-1 system. Additional Collector Appraisement Muhammad Rizwan said the Customs Department was fully aware of problems being faced by the business community of both the countries, which would be resolved through mutual consultation. He agreed with all the suggestions presented in the meeting and assured the participants that the problems would be resolved at the earliest.