PESHAWAR: Members of the business community and officials concerned on Thursday agreed over expediting crossover of vehicles from both sides to 900 trucks on a daily basis to clear the long queues of goods laden vehicles waiting for clearance at Torkham border.
This was agreed during a meeting of Pak-Afghan border management committee at Customs Station Torkham, which was held under the chairmanship of Additional Collector Customs (Appraisement), Muhammad Rizwan, said a statement issued here.
Deputy Collector Enforcement, Saiqa Abbas, Assistant Director FIA, Yasir Arafat, Assistant Director Anti-Narcotics, Salman, Maj Murad from Frontier Corps, DC Appraisement Customs, Hammad, Assistant Collector, Farya Abbas Naqvi, Transit Superintendent, Saddiq Akbar attended the meeting.
In the meeting, those who represented business community included Coordinator Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Vice Chairman All Pakistan Customs Agents Association, Vice President PAJCCI, Shujah Muhammad, Farooq Ahmad, President Torkham Custom Agents Association, Haji Aimal Khan, former president Customs Agents Association, Nasir Shinwari and others.
According to the statement, the meeting held discussion on the slow clearance process of trucks, causing delays in transportation of consignments besides return of empty containers, resulting in financial losses to the business community of both the countries.
Participants of the meeting decided to convey a message to the Afghan side for reducing the break period for clearance starting from 2 am to 10 am causing lining up of trucks on both sides, the statement said.
Customs Clearing Agents were also asked to start GD (Goods Document) filing from early morning to ensure timely clearance of trucks.
Additional Collector Customs, Muhammad Rizwan assured businessmen that a new scanner will be arranged till March of 2024 which will also help in early clearance of trucks.
Speaking on the occasion, Coordinator PAJCCI, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi appreciated the efforts of Customs Collectorate in arranging meetings of stakeholders of Pak-Afghan trade with the objective of streamlining commerce and trade in the region.
Vice Chairman All Pakistan Customs Agents Association, Farooq Ahmad laid stress on provision of reasonable time for implementation of decision regarding ban on import of items for Afghanistan mentioned in the negative list.
Speaking on the occasion, Additional Collector Customs, Muhammad Rizwan said the purpose of holding such meetings is to get input from stakeholders for improvement of trade between the two countries.
The points raised in the meeting are noted for presentation to high ups for taking decisions for resolution of issues.
He also asked businessmen to keep on approaching officials regarding any complaints for timely redressal of different problems.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024