Customs agents assured of solution to problems

PESHAWAR: Senior Customs officials have assured all steps to resolve the problems faced by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Customs agents on a priority basis.

They held out the assurance during a meeting where the Frontier Customs Agents Group Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called for addressing the problems faced by the community at the Peshawar Dry Port, Bacha Khan International Airport and Torkham Customs Station.

President of the Frontier Customs Agents Group, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, Senior Vice-President Khalid Shehzad, Vice-Presidents Imtiaz Ali Imtiaz, Asif Jamal, General Secretary Mian Waheed Bacha and executive committee members Nomanul Haq, Nasir Shinwari, Javed Khan, Azam Sharif, Ammar Ansari and Muhammad Azam met the officials at the Customs House.

The delegation talked to Collector Customs (Appraisement) Ihsan Ali Shah, Collector Customs (Preventive) Asif Saeed Khan Laghmani and Director Transit Trade Faiz Ali separately. Additional Director Transit Trade, Faisal Bukhari, was present as well.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, who is also Vice-President of the All Pakistan Customs Agents Association, Karachi, greeted the officials on assuming charge of the offices. He brought into their notice the problems of the community. He said the Pakistan Railways had been non-functional at the Peshawar Dry Port for the last nine years which has almost halted the export through the railways as there is no railways locomotive. Sarhadi expressed concern at the lack of facilities at the Peshawar Dry Port and the delay in setting up the dry port at Azakhel. He pointed to the scarce facilities at the Torkham border with Afghanistan. He put forward some suggestions. The Customs officials agreed to the recommendations made by Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and promised remedial steps.