Special passes for Afg-Pak cargo transport

Coordinator Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, has suggested issuing special passes to truck drivers transporting cargo goods between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a press statement released on Friday, Sarhadi said the suggestion is based on streamlining and smoothing of Pak-Afghan trade which recently halted for ten days over conditions of visas by truck drivers. Around 1000 truck drivers will be issued special passes instead of visas for carrying their goods with ease between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he added. He stressed that these trucks should be registered with Customs and Transport Departments in Pakistan and Transport and Gumrak in Afghanistan. The owners of heavy vehicles should also be charged a nominal fee for issuance of special pass, he added.

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Sarhadi noted that hundreds of trucks got stuck on both sides of the border and businessmen faced hefty losses due to rotting of perishable items. The importers and exporters of both countries also have to pay enormous amounts as detention charges at a rate of US dollars 120 to 180 per day. He highlighted that the issuance of special passes to trucks, allowing them to ply between Karachi to Mazhar Sharif, will help in easing the transportation of cargo goods and promotion of trade between the two neighbouring countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2024.

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