PHC asks officials not to harass truckers on Pak-Afghan highway

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday restrained security agencies from unnecessarily harassing transporters and drivers conducting business on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway under the pretext of security and drugs checking.

Disposing of the writ petition and releasing a three-page detailed verdict, the court also instructed the authorities to refrain from extortion and other such illegal practices against the transporters and drivers.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Sabitullah Khan heard the petition of transporters conducting business between Pakistan and Afghanistan filed through Advocate Ameenur Rehman Yousafzai.

The petitioners argued that multiple checkpoints had been set up along the Pak-Afghan route, where transporters were subjected to unnecessary harassment.

The said that various security agencies, including the police, excise department, customs, Rangers, and FC, had established their own checkpoints, where transporters were forced to pay millions of rupees in bribes.

According to the petitioners, from Torkham to Karachi, transporters were repeatedly asked for huge money under the guise of security checks.

They prayed the court to direct authorities to conduct checks only at legally established checkpoints on the National Highway and to prevent unnecessary harassment.

They also said that the extortion from transporters and drivers was not only harming businesses but also causing financial losses to them.

The petition further called for an investigation into these security checkpoints and demanded the removal of unnecessary ones.

Following the completion of arguments, the court issued a written verdict and remarked that security agencies must not unnecessarily harass transporters conducting business on the Pak-Afghan route.

The court ruled that vehicle checks should only take place at officially established checkpoints from Karachi to Torkham on the National Highway. It also instructed the relevant authorities to put an end to extortion and corrupt practices under the pretext of security and drug checks.

The court disposed of the petition while issuing orders that transporters should not be harassed beyond the officially established checkpoints on the National Highway.