PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Customs banned the import of food and fruit items from Afghanistan and stopped the loaded trucks on Torkham border, sources said on Friday.
The customs officials have put forward seven conditions for importing fresh and dry fruits, cooking oil and ghee from Afghanistan. The authorities stopped at least 50 trucks on the border.
The importers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that, despite other restrictions, now Pakistan customs has deprived the tribal people of their business.
Rejecting the conditions by the Customs authorities as illegal, the Custom Clearing Agents said the stipulations imposed for import of goods were hard to fulfill by the transporters.
The importers further said the imports from Afghanistan were completely stopped, which would also affect the national exchequer.
He added that 50 trucks loaded with different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables were stranded at Torkham and would be wasted if not permitted to reach Peshawar and other cities in time.
The businessmen threatened to stage a protest if Pakistan Customs did not withdraw its conditions within a week.
When contacted, a customs official said they had imposed certain necessary conditions and asked importers and transporters to submit the required documents to organize imports from Afghanistan.
He said they would not allow any kind of item from Afghanistan to enter Pakistan without the required documents.
