Pak-Afghan border closure makes long queue of more than 7000 stranded trucks-PAJCCI

Peshawar: Director Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has said that closure of Torkhem border for the last five days has made a very long queue of more than 7000 stranded trucks laden with goods including perishable items like fresh fruit, vegetable, juices, poultry, eggs etc.

In a press statement issued here on Thursday, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi said the queue of stranded trucks has reached Hamza Baba chowk and if the gate is not opened it will reached Peshawar, inflicting enormous losses to exporters and businessmen.

He said the stoppage of containers on the way to Afghanistan is causing demurrages to exporters in thousands of rupees on daily basis besides raising changes of getting rot of perishable items.

Every container of sugar is being charged a demurrage of Rs. 45,000 on daily basis. While the container filled with transit good is charged US dollar 160 on daily basis as detention charges. Similarly, every truck is being fined Rs. 6,000 on daily basis as Helding charge.

Zia also made a mention here that the export quota of sugar to Afghanistan will expire in 45 days which has only twenty days left and if urgent measures are not taken the business community will face huge losses.

He said the Afghan side on Thursday opened the gate but it remained closed from Pakistan side, causing concern among businessmen and other stakeholders of the Pak-Afghan trade.

Zia Sarhadi who is also former SVP of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) said the closure of border is not only inflicting losses in millions of rupees to the national exchequer but is also creating a lot of problems for ailing Afghans who wanted to come here for medical treatment.

Director PAJCCI demanded of Pakistan authorities to open border at the earliest so that stuck up goods laden trucks could proceed for their destination besides providing opportunity to thousands of people to cross border on both sides.