KHYBER: Excitement and jubilation by the exhausted transporters marked the resumption of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan via the Torkham border on Tuesday as Pakistan announced a relaxation in visa conditions for Afghan transporters till end of March.

Local custom clearing agents told Dawn that preference was given to vehicles loaded with perishable items which included oranges and potatoes from Pakistan side and onion from Afghan side.

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They said that these vehicles were provided a separate lane to avoid traffic congestion at the border crossing point.

Vehicles loaded with other export and import items too were allowed to move on both sides of the border as drivers and their assistants jostled their way to their vehicles in order to secure a place in the exit route to Afghanistan after getting clearance from custom authorities.

Sources said that about 55 vehicles loaded with Afghan transit goods too had made it to the Zero point after the official announcement about resumption of trade activities at Torkham after ten days of closure.

Rough estimates shared by local traders and transporters said that around 350 to 400 loaded vehicles carrying multiple trade goods had crossed the border from both sides till Tuesday evening while they expected the border to remain open till late in the night in order to clear the back log of the stranded vehicles as soon as possible.

Custom officials posted at Torkham also acknowledged the opening of border at night and assured that every possible facility would be provided to the custom clearing agents and transporters for speedy clearance of their merchandise.

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They said that 170 vehicles with import items from Afghanistan were allowed to enter Pakistan while over two hundred export vehicles had crossed to Afghanistan.

The bilateral trade was abruptly suspended on January 13 when Pakistan announced ban on entry of Afghan transporters to Pakistan without valid visa. A similar ban was also slapped on Pakistani drivers by the Afghan authorities a day after the implementation of visa restrictions by Pakistan.

Majority of the Afghan transporters had complained about difficulties in obtaining their national passports on time while also facing problems in stamping visa for Pakistan on their passports at Kabul and Jalalabad.

They had been demanding relaxation in provision of visa for Pakistan along with maximum time for acquisition of new passports or renewal of the older ones as they said that Kabul was faced with shortage of passport printing material for last few months and thus their requests were delayed by long periods.

Pakistan announced on Tuesday morning that a relaxation was given to all the Afghans to get their passports till March 31 after which none of them would be allowed to enter Pakistan without legal travel documents.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2024