Torkham tension casts a shadow over Eid travelers

Thousands of passengers, including children, are waiting to travel and celebrate Eidul Fitr with their relatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan as some of the Afghan transport mafia backed by the Afghan government has imposed a 'ban' on the operations of Pak-Afghan Dosti Bus service inside Afghanistan, the Bus management said on Saturday.
Haji Nasir Khan, the managing director of Pak-Afghan Dosti Bus service, said that his bus service symbolises friendship between people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said it has been halted by the Afghan government to run between Jalalabad and Peshawar, hardly a few days before Eidul Fitr. While talking to reporters, Haji Nasir Khan said that he had started passengers' bus service between Peshawar and Jalalabad in 2006. He said six to ten buses daily cross the Torkham border while five to eight hundreds passengers of both the countries use his service.
"I met with General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf in 2006 and requested him that he may be allowed to start a bus service between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A licence was issued to me after I fulfilled all the requirement", recalled Nasir and added that since then his fleet of 15 buses and taxi cabs was providing services to thousands of passengers travelling to and from Pakistan via the Torkham border. He said due to recent tension over the Torkham gate installation between the two neighbouring countries, his bus service also suffered. He said a month ago Dosti Buses stopped plying between Jalalabad and Peshawar as Afghan transporters with the help of the Afghan government asked them not to enter Afghanistan. He said the daily supply of Pakistani newspapers and magazines to Afghanistan is also carried out through his bus service. He said with the halt and suspension of his 15 buses service, several workers including drivers and other crew members have lost their jobs. Khan said he was getting 1.5 million rupees per month from his bus service. He said he formally informed the concerned Pakistani government officials including Altaf Asghar, joint secretary in Islamabad, director routes of Pakistan Shoaib Dogar.