KHYBER: Truckers taking trade goods to Afghanistan have expressed their resentment over ‘imposition of an illegal tax’ by local transporters’ unions, which was charged on the Peshawar-Torkham highway prior to their crossing the border.

Drivers alleged that representatives of at least five local transporters’ unions, who recently formed an alliance, were charging every loaded vehicle Rs1,000 octroi in the name of regulating vehicular traffic on the main road and reducing congestion at the border point.

The trade goods transporters said these unions were not registered with any government department, and thus they were not authorised to demand an illegal tax from transporters.

They alleged that the alliance’s representatives would use rough language with drivers and their assistants and make them wait for long hours at the border point if the imposition of illegal tax was questioned or they refused to pay it.

The transporters alleged the traffic police deputed on the main road didn’t take notice of the ‘illegal’ activity.

The transporters also claimed that despite a designated parking area in Torkham, which was built and managed by National Logistics Cell, they were forced to park their vehicles in an open and insecure compound near the Hamza Baba mausoleum in Landi Kotal, which lacked basic facilities.

They alleged the district administration arrested three representatives of the transporters’ alliance while issuing ‘permits’ to drivers in Zeen Tharra area on Wednesday only to release them the same day after striking a ‘deal’ with them.

The transporters said vehicles loaded with Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) goods were the most affected as they were unlawfully stopped for payment of illegal tax and then made to wait for customs clearance. They said ATT goods vehicles were not required to undergo customs clearance as per the agreement.

Drivers and local travellers have appealed to the authorities to deploy police officials along the highway to take effective action against those involved in the illegal collection of money.

The drivers also demanded an immediate end to the illegal collection of money and action against those responsible in ‘robbing’ the transporters.

Meanwhile, in a video shared on social media, representatives of the local transporters’ alliance disclosed they pocketed only 20 per cent of the money collected from drivers and the rest of the amount was ‘delivered’ to officials.

They, however, did not specify the department whose officials were beneficiaries of the illegal tax.

Local drivers said that these unions collected about Rs300,000 to Rs400,000 daily as about 300 to 400 vehicles crossed the border every day.

Officials of the district administration failed to respond to the queries about the arrest and abrupt release of the unions’ representatives.

Traffic police officials too were keeping a mum over the trespassing of their authority by the unions’ representatives.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2025