Past problems at Spin Boldak-Chaman port still persist

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): Problems concerning the movement of travelers and trade in Spin Boldak-Chaman border still persist despite an agreement reached between Afghan and Pakistani officials.

The border was reopened on November 2 after being closed for nearly a month, but still thousands of people remained stranded on both sides and commercial transportation is hardly allowed.

Passengers and traders on the Spin Boldak-Chaman route say that an agreement reached between the two sides to open the route 10 days ago was not implemented, and people were still facing serious problems.

Nasrullah, a resident of Kandahar City, capital of Kandahar province, who has been trying to cross the border for the past few days, said that despite waiting for several days and hardships, he was not allowed to cross the Durand Line.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News that Spin Boldak-Chaman port was so crowded on both sides that a woman lost her life.

When the port was reopened, it was said that people would be allowed to travel on Kandahar identity cards and passports, but many were not allowed to travel on these documents, he said.

Another passenger said he had a passport but was not allowed to enter Pakistan and was even unable to reach to the gate.

Despite people from other provinces of Afghanistan have been asked not to use the port for traveling to Pakistan, thousands of people from many provinces, many of them families, have reached the port to cross the border.

One of them is Karam Khan, a resident of Helmand province, who says he has been waiting for nine days to cross the border.

He said that after the gate was opened, the women of his family were allowed to cross the border, but the men were not allowed by the Pakistani militia.

In addition to passengers, traders are also facing serious problems at the port.

They quote officials as saying the border would keep open 24 hours a day for commerce, but it is actually open only for 10 hours a day.

Mohammadullah, a fresh fruit trader in Kandahar, said that his truck loaded with pomegranates had been parked near the gate for two days but he had not been able to cross the border.

He said that after crossing the border into Pakistan, trucks were not allowed to proceed for another three days in the name of checking.

Meanwhile, Nasrullah Zaheer, head of Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Pajhwok that although the Pakistani side had said the border would be open for trade for 24 or 18 hours a day, they as usual violated their promises and created problems for traders.

The 10 hour permit is still good for traders, if they do not create other problems for businesspeople, he said.

Zaeem Agha, Spin Boldak commissar, told Pajhwok that some problems still persisted but they were trying to resolve them.

He says one of the problems with the commerce is shortage of transportation time, but a decision has been made to gradually increase the time in the future.

He says another problem is travel with the support of Kandahar identity cards, as many people were often not allowed to cross the border with suspicious ID cards.

Agha said some people recently used fake IDs made in Kandahar and on the other side of the Durand Line, which had also created problems.

Pakistani side usually created problems for Afghan people and traders using Spin Boldak-Chaman border, particularly during the fresh fruit season.

The port was closed for the past one month, disrupting exports of pomegranates and other fresh fruits, trade and transit which caused heavy losses to growers and traders.

Mds/ma