Over 5,000 drivers, helpers remain stranded on Afghan border

Despite the announcement of reopening of the Pak-Afghan border by Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 20, over 1,700 loaded vehicles are still stranded, increasing the chances of COVID-19 outbreak in the border areas.
The issue was highlighted by the All Pakistan Customs Bonded Carrier Association (APCBCA) in a letter sent to the prime minister.
APCBCA said that around 5,600 drivers/cleaners are stranded at both sides of the Pak-Afghan border for the last about 30 days, and no COVID-19 case has so far been reported among them.
Therefore, it has been requested to allow them transporting Afghan transit goods as the cargo transportation across the country is allowed to be carried out in order to maintain the supply chain of the essential commodities and necessary raw material to protect the industry and allow it to continue its production.
It said that the Pak-Afghan border was opened for three days on March 20, but, unfortunately, over 1,700 vehicles were still stuck there due to procedural delays, leaving around 5,600 drivers/cleaners stranded near the Pak-Afghan border with no basic facilities.
The association urged the authorities to conduct fumigation exercise for all the vehicles stopped en-route due to border closure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allow them transporting Afghan transit cargos in order to maintain the supply chain of food, medicines, merchandise and the goods necessary for Afghan people.
A chock-a-block of drivers/cleaners with loaded trucks at the Pak-Afghan border has increased the chances of spreading COVID-19 in the border areas.
The transit trade activities at Chaman has been lying suspended since March 3 while the Torkham border was closed on March 16 on the request of the Afghan government due to COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Directorate General of Transit Trade, around 1,587 forward transit containers were stuck in the route to the Chaman border and around 526 were parked between Peshawar and Torkham route, which started their journey from Karachi port and Bin Qasim port.
"With the announcement of complete moratorium of all activities on the western border to secure the health and safety of the people of Pakistan, the federal government has left drivers and cleaners at the mercy of the deadly virus, raising fears that these places could become a breeding ground for the coronavirus," said Arshad Jamal, chairman of the All Pakistan Customs Agents Association (APCAA).
He requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to issue directives for ensuring COVID-19 tests of the drivers and cleaners, and if their tests were negative then they should be allowed to transport transit goods to Afghanistan and return with empty containers.
"Apart from that, the risk factor is higher for the stranded cargos worth billions and so far there is no protection for these cargos," he said and urged the authorities to make arrangements for stationing these stranded cargos at a safe place in order to protect them from miscreants.
Furthermore, Arshad said the accumulated losses in terms of containers demurrages and detention besides truck damages soared to Rs58 million per day hence the authorities should not only direct the shipping companies and terminal operations to waive all charges but also restrict the customs department to avoid blocking the NTN of bonded carriers automatically through WeBOC system due to delays in delivering the cargos during this extraordinary situation.