PESHAWAR, Dec 25: The companies ferrying military hardware and other goods to Nato and US forces in Afghanistan have started shifting their logistic terminals to Punjab after recent series of attacks in Peshawar and prevailing insecurity in the region, sources say.

Private parties transporting supplies for the US and Nato forces from Karachi to Kabul and Bagram airbase via Torkham border town since 2003 have rented plots at Tarnol and Burhan towns in Attock district across river Kabul for establishing terminals and parking facilities.

After spate of attacks on terminals and parking areas established along the provincial capital’s Ring Road early this month government had deployed police and paramilitary forces to prevent militants’ attacks on these facilities.

But employees of these companies said that insecurity still prevailed in the region despite deployment of police and Frontier Corps at the terminals.

“We believe that security arrangements are still inadequate and can’t stop militants from more attacks. So it is better to relocate terminals from

NWFP to Punjab,” said an employee of a transportation company.

He said that his company transporting military equipment to the foreign troops in Afghanistan had started shifting goods to Attock as other parties had already relocated their business from Peshawar.

He said that load of those supplies would further enhance as military hardware from Iraq would be shifted to Afghanistan via the same route in next few weeks. The US government has announced that it might send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan by the end of March.

Sources said that three major parties transporting supplies for Nato forces including military hardware, spare parts and food items -- World Port Logistics, American President Line and Venus Supreme Food -- had started shifting terminals to Punjab.

The disband Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan led by Baitullah Mehsud has already vowed to prevent supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan via Torkham Highway passing through Khyber tribal region. The group had claimed hijacking 13 lorries carrying supplies for troops from the highway in Khyber region on November 11.

The NWFP cabinet this week had decided to provide proper security to the Nato supplies but it directed contractors to dump only 200 loaded containers and lorries at the terminals in the province at a time.

About 3,000 lorries and containers loaded with Nato supplies are still waiting at Karachi Port and Bin Qasim Port for go ahead signal.The decision was taken in the wake of militants’ attacks on terminals and parking facilities along the Ring Road. More than 300 lorries, loaded containers, Humvees, armed personnel carries and hardware were set ablaze during attacks at these terminals. Three guards of private security companies were also killed in the attacks.

Sources said that relocation of terminals would affect business and render a large number of labourers jobless. “About 3,000 to 4,000 local people will lose their job owing to shifting of terminals to Punjab,” said manager of a transportation company.

On the other hand truckers who had been transporting Nato supplies from Peshawar to Kabul had refused to carry those goods due to attacks in Peshawar and Torkham highway.

The political administration has provided paramilitary forces to escort the truckers between Peshawar and Torkham, but drivers and owners are reluctant to transport the goods to Afghanistan.