Afghan transporters caught unaware of new border restriction

KHYBER: Customs authorities stopped on Thursday all those Afghan transporters, who did not possess temporary admission document (TAD), from crossing Torkham border after receiving directives from their high-ups in Islamabad late on Wednesday evening.
The possession of TAD was made mandatory in March with the consent of commerce ministries of both the neighbouring countries after most of Afghan and Pakistani transporters were found crossing the border without legal travel documents.
Officials at Torkham told Dawn that the new restriction was put in place since midnight between Wednesday and Thursday with clear instructions to stop Afghan transporters from crossing the border if they did not possess TAD.
The restrictions caught majority of drivers, both Afghan and Pakistani, unawares as they had already loaded merchandise on their vehicles and had been waiting for custom clearance at different locations while on their way to Torkham border for last few days.
Long queues of vehicles were seen on the road owing to the abrupt ban on movement of transporters without TAD. Goods clearance at Torkham also came to a halt due to traffic congestion both on the main road and near the border crossing.
Mukamil Shah, an Afghan driver of a vehicle loaded with Afghan transit goods, told Dawn that he could not obtain TAD owing to financial constraints as he was employed to the owner of the vehicle on monthly salary.
He said that he parked his vehicle at Gulab Maidan, a sprawling fabled ground adjacent to Hamza Baba mausoleum in Landi Kotal, with hundreds of his countrymen without the said document.
“I believe only 20 per cent of Afghan and Pakistani drivers have so far acquired TAD both due the lengthy process of its acquisition and the fee, which most of them could not afford,” said Mr Shah.
Haji Azeemullah Shinwari, president of local transporters union, told Dawn that the TAD condition badly impacted bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries.
He alleged that consulate and embassy staff of Pakistan both in Kabul and Jalalabad was unlawfully overcharging drivers, especially Afghans, against the fixed registration fee of $100.
Mr Shinwari said that at the time of the introduction of TAD, they were told by both Afghan and Pakistani authorities that the document, which would be valid for 180 days, would be provided within five working days. “It takes more than a month as a number of transporters have submitted their required documents about a month ago but they are still awaiting TAD,” he added.
He said that the acquisition of TAD was an extra financial burden on most of local and Afghan drivers as owners of vehicles refused to compensate them for the registration fee they deposited with the embassies or consulates of both countries.
The trade and commerce ministries of both countries agreed in March to issue TAD to their respective transporters to facilitate their cross-border movement without legal travel documents.
Pakistan has authorised its trade offices and commercial assistant, commercial wing at its embassy in Kabul to issue TAD for vehicles with Afghan registration while the Afghan Taliban government authorised its consulate staff in Peshawar and Quetta to issue the new travel documents for Pakistani vehicles.
Mustaqim Khan, another Afghan driver, told Dawn that lack of knowledge about the acquisition of TAD was also a reason that most of them were without the new document while authorities too did not inform them about the procedure of TAD acquisition.
He said that their business was already hit hard by introduction of new travel rules for transporters as majority of Pakistani traders would not give them export items for fear of sudden ban on them.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2024