Torkham border closure halts trade activities

LANDIKOTAL: The trade activities remained suspended as the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham was kept closed on the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.

Dozens of trucks carrying perishable items, including vegetables and fruits, have been stranded on each side of the border since Saturday when the crossing, a vital trade route, was closed after Pakistan enforced the condition of valid passports and visas for the drivers and helpers of the trucks.

The border officials recalled that the federal government had imposed a passport and visa condition for drivers of cargo vehicles entering from Afghanistan on November 1, last year.

They said the Afghan government was given two and a half months to implement the policy but the Afghan authorities were not serious about its implementation.

The implementation of visa-passport policy was enforced on Saturday and Afghan cargo vehicles with drivers and helpers without passports were stopped from entering Pakistan via Torkham.

According to border officials, around 5,000 loaded and empty vehicles have been stuck on both sides of the Torkham border for the last four days.

Traders Qari Nazeem Gul Shinwari and Kharej Khan said over 100 vehicles of fresh fruits and vegetables had been missing for the last four days since the closure of the border crossing.

The Customs officials said Pakistan-Afghan bilateral trade generates an average of Rs 50 million every day.

Torkham Transport Union President Azimullah said that hundreds of vehicles were stuck on both sides of the border. He said most truck owners had purchased trucks on installments and these installments were to be paid in time.

It is worth mentioning here that Pak-Afghan border officials had met on Monday to sort out the issue but the exercise remained futile as the Pakistani border officials said they would implement the federal government’s decision.