Businessmen call for commercial activities at Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi border posts

PESHAWAR, :Businessmen dealing in Pak-Afghan trade have demanded Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Ministry of Commerce to open Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi borders with Afghanistan for full-fledged commercial activities in the wake of the excessive transportation burden on the Torkhem border post.

In a joint press statement issued here on Saturday, Coordinator Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi and former Senior Vice President (SVP) Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Engr Manzoor Elahi said due to closure of Chaman border for the last three months and limited operation at Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi border posts, all the workload of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been shifted to Torkhem border.

“Excessive transportation of goods from Torkhem to Afghanistan and Central Asian Countries (CARs), ensued in prolonging travel duration of goods laden trucks from ten days to around one and a half month and excessive increase in charges,” they explained.

Transportation charges for trucks nowadays has been hiked to an exorbitant level of Rs. 1.1 million (1100,000) because of prolonged travel duration of around one and a half months which makes it almost impossible for businessmen to bear the expense, they went on to say.

Zia said a truck carrying goods to Afghanistan returns to Pakistan after around 45 days and the owners are now preferring local transportation within the country, instead of sending their vehicles to Afghanistan which is creating an acute shortage of vehicles.

He said the Chaman border has been closed for the last three months, Kharliachi is confined to only import and export operations which does not allow the transportation of transit goods, while the Ghulam Khan border is operational only for a few hours till 5:00 p.m.

In such circumstances, all the burden has been shifted to Torkhem resulting in the accumulation of huge traffic, prolonged travel duration, and exorbitant increase in transportation charges.

As a result of workload and accumulation of loaded trucks, the return of empty trucks from Afghanistan is also held, exacerbating the problem, they added.

Both Zia Sarhadi and Engr. Manzoor also suggested shifting the entry of trucks carrying soapstone and coal from Afghanistan to Kharlachi and Ghulam Khan.

They said daily around 70 to 80 trucks of coal and around 150 to 200 trucks of soapstone arrive from Afghanistan through the Torkhem border which creates traffic jams in the parking areas and on the main highway. Ongoing work on the NLC terminal at Torkhem is also creating space shortage and delays in the passage of trucks, they added.

Both the businessmen reiterated their demand from FBR and the Ministry of Commerce and Trade to take notice of hardships being faced by the business community due to excessive transportation charges and prolonged travel duration due to the rush of vehicles at the Torkhem border post.