Torkham border: Govt urged to ensure smooth trade activities

LANDIKOTAL: Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Sayed Jawad Hussain Kazmi on Saturday urged the government to facilitate traders and transporters to enhance import and export with Afghanistan and central Asian countries.

Flanked by other office-bearers, he told reporters at the Landikotal Press Club that Torkham was not only being used for trade and passengers’ movement with Afghanistan but Pakistani goods were also being transported to Europe and central Asian republics via the facility.

“Forty percent of revenue is generated from trade-related taxes at the Torkham border,” he added. He said the traders were facing enormous problems due to which the export of Pakistani goods via Torkham had decreased.

Kazmi said his team was in contact with the officials of the departments concerned to provide facilities to traders and exporters. He said the government should extend tax exemption up to 10 years for the people of the merged districts.

He added that free and uninterrupted trade was running between Pakistan and India via different eastern borders but hard and fast conditions had been imposed on trade activities taking place between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said the pledges made at the time of Fata’s merger could not be fulfilled so far. He urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to quickly process the documents of trucks stranded for weeks on both sides of the border.