Daily wagers protest curbs at Torkham border

LANDIKOTAL: Dozens of labourers and daily wagers staged a protest on Tuesday against the restrictions that had deprived them of the source of living.

They were holding placards inscribed with slogans that called for the revival of the token pass for daily wagers to enable them to frequently cross the border without any hurdle.

Speaking on the occasion, labourers union president Farman Ali, Fahmeedullah and Zakir Umar said hundreds of poor labourers had lost their source of living due to tough restrictions imposed at the Torkham border. They said the visa condition not only made daily wagers suffer but also hundreds of residents who had shops, hotels and other small businesses on the other side of the border in Afghanistan.

The daily wagers representatives said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had announced that people living along the border area would be allowed to travel across the border by showing national identity cards of both the countries. “But recently visa acquisition has been made compulsory for everyone to get in into Afghanistan and vice versa,” Farman said.

He said the measure had added to difficulties for the poor daily wagers and porters who were earning a living for poor families. Farman demanded the authorities to exempt residents of Landikotal from visa acquisition conditions so that they could resume work and reopen shops, tea hotels on the border with Afghanistan.

The protesters said all the doors had been shut for the labourers and they had been compelled to come on the roads to register their protest. They threatened to launch a protest campaign if their demands were not accepted by February 1.

The protesters ended their strike after the assurance of officials that their problems would be resolved.