Afghan traders, truckers say harassed, delayed at Torkham

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Afghan traders and cargo truck drivers say they are being harassed and delayed under different pretexts by Pakistani officials at Torkham, affecting their commercial activities.

Afghan officials at Torkham port also confirm the complaints of traders and say they have discussed the issue with the Pakistani side.

Businessmen in Nangarhar complain they are being harassed by Pakistani officials under different excuses while doing business via Torkham crossing and as a result their business activities have been affected and they often incur losses.

Zalmai Azeemi, a trader, told Pajhwok Afghan News the problem lied across the Durand Line where Afghan truckers were not allowed to proceed soon— a move that caused losses to Afghan traders and decreased the value of their exports.

“Thousands of trucks with commercial goods are currently standing at the Torkham zero point because they are not allowed to continue their journey by the Pakistanis and their delay cause losses to Afghan traders.”

Some other businessmen held similar views, saying trucks carrying commercial goods from Afghanistan to Pakistan were kept back at Torkham by Pakistani officials.

Noorzada, a truck driver, told Pajhwok that perishable items like fruits and vegetables were often not delivered to Pakistani markets because of the delay in their clearance at Torkham.

Another driver, Sher Afazl called on the two governments to provide facilities to traders and resolve their problems.

He said the Pakistanis did not timely perform customs clearance of commercial vehicles and used different excuses to harass people. “Delaying some items means losses.”

However, the authorities assure solution to the problem.

Torkham Commissioner Maulvi Ismatullah Yaqub said their revenue had increased and that he was making serious efforts to solve traders’ problems.

He said they had shared the problems of Afghan traders with Pakistani authorities who had promised to solve them.

He said daily up to 20 million afghanis revenue was collected at Torkham and the annual revenue had increased to five billion afghanis. “This income was two billion afghanis in the past.”

The Pakistani consulate in Nangarhar did not respond to a Pajhwok request for comment about Afghan traders’ complaints.

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