PESHAWAR: Director Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has welcomed permission from the customs department for cross stuffing of Afghan and Uzbek cargo at Karachi Port.
In a press statement, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi said it was a welcome step that the demand of businessmen dealing in Pak-Afghan trade had been met.
A notification regarding allowing of cross stuffing was issued by the Directorate General of Transit Trade a couple of days earlier. Zia Sarhadi said due to the restriction placed on cross stuffing, the businessmen were facing extra charges due to delays in the return of containers to the shipping company.
The containers carrying goods took several days in reaching to Afghanistan and returning back to Karachi port, inflicting huge fines on importers under the head of detention charges.
With allowing of cross stuffing, the containers will be offloaded at Karachi and goods be transferred to trucks for onward transportation to Afghanistan.
Director PAJCCI also urged that GD (Goods Documentation) filing at Aza Khel dry Port in Nowshera district.
This decision will not only reduce the burden on Karachi port, but would help in making Aza Khel dry port operational, besides creating employment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by providing livelihood to more than 270 custom clearing agents.
Zia said Aza Khel dry port was constructed at a cost of Rs. 50 million by Pakistan Railways a few years earlier but has never been operational due to lack of activities in regard with Afghan transit goods.
He said the cross-stuffing facility should also be allowed at Aza Khel Dry Port in Nowshera and cargoes in bulk quantities like sugar, wheat, and urea be transported in railway wagons which would help in reducing transportation costs for businessmen, besides generating revenue for Railways.
