PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister said that work was underway to fulfill promise of Prime Minister Imran Khan to keep open Torkham Border round-the-clock for 24 hours.
In pursuance of Prime Minister Imran Khan directives issued earlier in January 2019 to open Pak-Afghan border crossing round-the-clock, a high level meeting of all the Federal and Provincial stakeholders to take stock of the preparations of 24-7 opening of the Torkham border held under the chairmanship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra. Besides Deputy Commissioner Khyber District Mehmood Aslam Wazir, officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Logistic Cell (NLC), FC and National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) also attended the meeting.
Minister Finance was briefed that keeping in view the prime minister’s earlier directions, the Khyber district administration, including other departments such as customs and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), have completed all requirements to keep this strategic border open 24/7. Meeting was informed by the DC Khyber that local administration finalized all arrangements to keep the border crossing open round-the-clock.
KP Minister Finance while addressing the meeting said ‘we are in the final stages of putting everything together, once completed, the Prime Minister will formally inaugurate the opening’. He further said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has championed this initiative beyond its role.
Taimur Saleem said that Torkham is Pakistan’s busiest international crossing with 10 thousand people and 1000 plus trucks cross it every day, so opening the border round-the-clock will be transformational.
In a tweet by Imran Khan said, “the functioning of the border crossing round the clock” would be “instrumental in boosting bilateral trade and enhancing people to people contacts between the two brotherly countries,” the minister maintained.
The minister issued directions to the departments concerned to expedite homework to keep Torkham border open round-the-clock.
