LANDI KOTAL: The local importers have complained that hundreds of their trucks loaded with imported coal and soap are stranded on the Afghan side of Torkham border due to slow process of checking and clearance on the Pakistan side.
They said that the border guards had recently intensified detailed checking of all the vehicles bringing goods and edibles from Afghanistan after seizure of arms and other contrabands concealed in trucks crossing into Pakistan.
They said that the checking of loaded vehicles was mostly done manually due to absence of an electronic scanning system which had been causing delays in clearance of most imported goods.
Officials at Torkham, however, argued that the checking was intensified after receipt of secret information about involvement of some traders and transporters in illegal cross-border trade of arms and other unauthorised items to and from Pakistan.
The local traders contended that the government had in the recent past pledged on a number of occasions to provide all the basic facilities to them for speedy disposal and clearance of import and export goods, but the promises were yet to be fulfilled.
They demanded installation of an electronic scanner on the Pakistan side as manual search consumed a considerable time. “We incur big losses due to delays in delivery of our consignments to Pakistani firms dealing in coal and soap stone as most of us have failed to fulfil our commitment in timely delivery of the ordered goods,” they said.
The local traders said that the installation of modern machinery would not only expedite the search process of loaded vehicles, but also result in increased bilateral trade between the two countries.
Some of the local traders were also critical of the customs authorities at Torkham for their failure to remove discrepancies in the newly-established Web-Based One Custom system for speedy clearance of goods.
