The local transporters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have held a demonstration against the establishment of a new check post in the area of Bara. The protestors have demanded immediate removal of this checkpoint. The transporters’ representatives Rehman Zeb Afridi, Malak Jan Afridi, and Zar Qeeb Shinwari alleged that a new checkpoint has been established after the abolishment of Takhta Bag checkpost.
Transporters Demand:
“The authorities have started extorting money from Afghanistan-bound transporters,” the representatives further alleged. They said despite repeated assurance from the government, fleecing of transporters at the hands of Customs and National Logistic Cell officials have not stopped.
The transporters have threatened to block Peshawar-Torkham Road. “We will stop all trade to Afghanistan if our legitimate demands were not met,” the carriers asserted.
Last week, the transporters expressed frustration over mismanagement at the Pak-Afghan border. The media reports stated that Afghan vehicles are not being cleared to enter Pakistan due to alleged difficulties.
Background:
Peshawar-Torkham Road is one of the main trade routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Through this route, Afghan goods are exported via Torkhan crossing. The territory of Pakistan is one of the major trade routes for land-locked Afghanistan.
Last month, Pakistan operationalized the Gawadar port for transit trade to Afghanistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s commerce advisor Dawood Razzak said a ship carrying 6,000 metric tonnes of urea and fertilizer for Afghanistan has reached Pakistan’s deep seaport. “The cargo ship Sibulk Traditio has docked at Gawadar,” Razzak said, adding that this marks the beginning of a new era in Pakistan’s trade by sea.
Pakistani officials later told media that cargo was bagged at the port and then sent to Afghanistan in trucks. They said this trade has been conducted under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement-2010 (APTTA).
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