Ashrafuddin Pirzada
TORKHAM: Pak-Afghan borders Torkham remained closed on the fourth consecutive day, suffering around 50 million rupees every day to the national exchequer, traders said on Tuesday.
Border officials said that the federal government imposed visa conditions for drivers of cargo vehicles entering from Afghanistan on November 1, last year.
They said the Afghan government was given two and a half months to implement the policy but the Afghan authorities were not serious about implementing the policy.
The implementation of the visa-passport policy was started four days ago and Afghan cargo vehicles without passports were stopped from entering Pakistan via Torkham.
Due to the border closure trade activities have remained suspended on both sides of the border.
According to border officials, around five thousand loaded and empty vehicles have been stuck on both sides of the Torkham border.
Fresh fruits, vegetables and fish traders Qari Nazeem Gul Shinwari and Kharej Khan said that due to the closure of the border crossing, more than hundreds of vehicles of fresh fruits and vegetables have been stolen for the last four days, which has damaged goods worth in millions of rupees.
Customs officials said Pakistan-Afghan bilateral trade generates an average of rupees 50 million every day.
Torkham Transport Union President Haji Azimullah said that hundreds of vehicles were stacked on both sides of the border. He said most truck owners had purchased trucks in instalments to pay it on time.
Pak-Afghan border officials met the other day in which Pakistani border officials took a stand that they would implement the federal government’s decision.
Pakistani officials said that the Afghan authorities were not serious about providing their drivers’ data to produce travel documents.
Afghan officials said like before Pakistani authorities closed the Torkham border crossing without prior notice.
