Businessmen urge opening of more Pak-Afghan borders

Border closure, limits operation at Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi border posts have shifted trade workload to Torkham border

PESHAWAR:

Businessmen dealing in Pak-Afghan trade have demanded FBR and Ministry of Commerce to open Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi borders with Afghanistan for full-fledged commercial activities in the wake of the excessive transportation burden on the Torkhem border post.

In a joint press statement issued on Saturday, Coordinator Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and former senior vice president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Manzoor Elahi said Chaman border closure and limited operation at Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi border posts have shifted all trade workload to the Torkham border.

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“Excessive transportation of goods from Torkham to Afghanistan and Central Asian Countries, ensued in prolonging travel duration of goods laden trucks from ten days to around one and a half month and excessive increase in charges,” they explained. Transportation charges for trucks have been hiked to an exorbitant level of Rs1.1 million because of prolonged travel duration which makes it almost impossible for businessmen to bear the expense, they said.

Sarhadi highlighted that a truck carrying goods to Afghanistan returns to Pakistan after around 45 days and the owners now prefer local transportation within the country, instead of sending their vehicles to Afghanistan, creating an acute shortage of vehicles.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2024.

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