No trade via Torkham border for second day as Pakistan, Afghanistan fail to address visa issue

The bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan via the Torkham border remained suspended for a second consecutive day on Sunday, as officials from both countries failed to agree on visa restrictions for transporters. According to a Dawn report, despite a meeting between border officials on Saturday evening, no progress was made, and the suspension continued. Sources at Torkham revealed that vehicles were not allowed to cross the border into Afghanistan or enter Pakistan since Saturday, while pedestrian movement remained unaffected. In the meeting, the border officials agreed to convey messages from each side to their respective high authorities, the report added. According to the report, customs officials at Torkham advised local fruit dealers to return their merchandise to Peshawar for safe storage due to the unresolved visa issue. On Saturday, Pakistan imposed visa restrictions on Afghan drivers and their helpers without legal travel documents. In response, Afghan Taliban authorities at the Torkham border refused entry to Pakistani transporters. Additionally, bilateral trade at the Kharlaachi border crossing in Kurram came to a standstill as Afghan authorities denied entry to Pakistani drivers on Sunday morning. The Torkham Custom Clearing Agents Association demanded relaxation in visa restrictions for Afghan transporters, highlighting the financial losses incurred by local traders and transporters. President of the association Aimal Shinwari told Dawn that fruit and vegetable exporters were at risk of inflicting huge loses as the edible items were prone to perish if not delivered on time. He said that the national exchequer, too, was losing millions of dollars on a daily basis after the customs clearance of both the import and export items was completely stopped due to the new visa restrictions. The sudden imposition of the restrictions caused traffic congestion at the border point on both sides, as the majority of drivers and their assistants could not present valid travel documents. Speaking to Dawn, Sabir Khan, a local customs clearing agent, said that with fruit imp­orts from Afghanistan are com­ing to an end due to winter, the export of Pak­i­s­tani goods had incr­eased, leading to a traffic rush from the Pakistan side. He mentioned that Afg­han border authorities had also stopped some Pak­is­tani drivers from entering Afghanistan after the sudden implementation of visa restrictions on Afghan dri­vers by the Pakistan government. Khan further stated that hundreds of trailers and containers loaded with Pakistani export goods, including cement, tractors, other agricultural tools, vegetables, oranges, and miscellaneous items, were stranded on the Pakistan side, causing hardships for the transporters. It was also learnt that customs and security officials were in constant touch with high-ups in Islamabad for the early settlement of the visa issue for Afghan transporters. Customs officials emphasised that with exports from Pakistan flowing at a high rate, they could not afford any delay in the customs clearance of goods already arrived at the Torkham border. With inputs from agencies