Acting President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI), Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said Friday hundreds of truck-loads of Afghan transit commercial cargo are stranded at Torkham border and Takhta Baig checkpost, causing huge financial losses to traders. Sarhadi said in this connection, a KPCCI delegation, led by KPCCI President Afan Aziz, had separate meetings with KP Governor Barrister, Masood Kausar and Frontier Corps (FC) commandant sometime back, adding the said meetings resulted in formation of a committee, but in vain as no steps had yet been taken to solve the commercial cargo problem. Sarhadi expressed these views at a meeting of Frontier Customs Agents Group and Pak-Afghan transit traders held at the chamber. KPCCI Vice President Abid Salam, Imtiaz Ali, Tufail Gurwara, KP Executive Committee Member, Sikandar, and Aamir Bilal, Itehad Customs Service and others attended the meeting. KPCCI acting president said trucks loaded with commercial cargo are still stuck. As a result, he added, traders had been suffering losses worth millions of rupees. He asked the participants of the meeting to give complaints in writing to the chamber so that these could be forwarded to the higher authorities for solution to their problems. He also suggested formation of a dry port trust. Sarhadi said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was rich in marble, gemstone, furniture, match sticks and other natural resources. He said introduction of a business train from Karachi was a welcome sign and would provide facilities to traders and industrialists. Tufail Gurwara suggested the stakeholders should immediately address a press conference on Afghan transit trade like they did in case of Sui gas issue. He also proposed a meeting within this week with the collector customs to discuss Torkham, dry port, Afghan transit trade and other burning issues.
