Over 6000 trucks with goods stuck at the Af-Pak border, as the Taliban close the border

Kabul, Feb 23: At least 6,000 trucks ladened with goods remain stuck at a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as businesses on both sides face heavy losses following the Taliban’s decision to close Torkham — the main transit point for travelers and essentials between Islamabad and Kabul. Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had on Sunday closed Torkham. Officials from both sides are trying to find a solution soon, The News International reported.

 

 

 

Earlier the Pakistani authorities had asked the attendants of an Afghan patient to come with legal travel documents for entry into the country. “The closure of the border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been causing losses to traders of the two countries. There are long queues of heavy trucks stranded on both sides of the border,” said Zia Ul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Sarhadi informed that around 6,000 trucks had been stuck on both sides since Sunday.

 

 

 

Afghanistan relies on goods from Pakistan for much of its needs, Sarhadi said. “The traders and particularly those supplying fresh food items such as fruits and vegetables are facing losses as trucks are stranded on the way for the past three days,” he said. Officials in Pakistan are ready to take “two steps forward” if the Afghanistan side makes a formal request for the reopening of the border crossing, Dawn quoted Assistant commissioner Irshad Momand as saying. “They (Taliban) unilaterally closed the border crossing and as a matter of principle they shall initiate a dialogue if they want the border to be reopened,” Momand said. He further informed that after Monday’s shooting incident, extra personnel posted at the border had been removed by Pakistan. On Tuesday, the Afghan side also reciprocated by pulling back their reinforcement. “It is a positive sign and we hope that better sense will prevail,” the Pakistani official said. A Pakistani government official at the Torkham border said the Afghanistan border officials “made it an issue” and asked authorities in Pakistan to allow the patients and their attendants without visas or legal travel documents for treatment in Peshawar or elsewhere.

 

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Following the Peshawar mosque attack, Pakistan decided to strengthen security measures by mandating Afghan citizens to carry travel documents. Meanwhile, some informal contacts have been made with the Afghan Taliban authorities, urging them to send a delegation for talks, sources told Dawn. Local trading community and transporters have sought immediate reopening of the border as edible goods worth millions of rupees were at risk of decomposing, reports said.