Businessmen ask Afghan govt to allow thousands of Pak containers

PESHAWAR: The business community has urged Afghanistan government to allow thousands of containers and trucks stuck on its side of the border and reverse the decision of demanding Rs50,000 per container transporting trade goods to Afghanistan.

The demand was made during a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Liaison Committee held with its chairman and Director Transit Trade, Rashid Habib, in the chair.

Additional Director Transit Trade Amjadur Rehman, member Pak-Afghan Liaison Committee Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and others attended the meeting.

The participants said around 2,000 empty containers and Pakistani trucks had been parked at the Khwar Maidan area of Afghanistan side of the border for the last few weeks.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, who is also president of the Frontier Customs Agents, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the fares of containers shot up to Rs400,000 per container from Rs150,000 previously due to its shortage in the country.

He added the Afghan border authorities were demanding Rs50,000 per container and truck from the drivers and exporters to allow them to cross into Pakistan.

The businessmen representative said Pakistan had taken various steps to revive and expand the scope of trade with Afghanistan and removed illegal checkpoints between Peshawar and Torkham border.

Sarhadi said Pakistan had ended the condition of obtaining the transit permit as well to boost the trade between the two countries.

He also demanded a review of the Pak-Afghan Trade Transit Agreement to remove bottlenecks and flaws from the treaty to enhance bilateral trade.

He said Rashid Habib had asked the members of liaison committee to document and present their suggestions and recommendation to him, adding he would present these at the meeting of Pak-Afghan working group to be held from November 16-17 in Islamabad.