Taliban takeover spurs trade activity at Torkham border

LANDIKOTAL: Pedestrian movement and goods transportation between Pakistan and Afghanistan via Torkham border witnessed an increase after the Taliban takeover, officials said on Saturday.

This correspondent talked to border authorities, transporters and traders at Torkham border about the current situation.

Though they welcomed the Taliban takeover, they remained sceptical about the future.

An official requesting anonymity told The News that trade activities had increased by 40 percent in the last one week.

He said the Taliban quickened the documentation process that facilitated the trade activities at Torkham border. An official of the Pakistan Customs said around 800 loaded trucks daily crossed the border from and to Afghanistan and the number was increasing day by day. He said the prices of vegetables and fruit had dropped due to its import from Afghanistan.

When asked, Sharifuddin Shinwari, a trader from Pakistan, he said the Taliban had abolished the collection of taxes imposed by the former Afghan government.

He said the Taliban also curbed corrupt practices at the Afghan border offices.

Meanwhile, a number of Afghan families, including children and women, were seen entering Afghanistan via the Torkham border. Dozens of Pakistanis also returned from Afghanistan.