|
|
|
| July 31, 2005 | Sunday | Jumadi-us-Sani 23, 1426 |
Oil supply to US-led forces resumes
PESHAWAR, July 30: One of the main oil tanker companies, providing fuel to the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, on Saturday afternoon ended a two-day strike against the recently introduced procedure to export petrol from Pakistan to the neighbouring country, sources told Dawn.
However, dozens of oil tankers were still parked at the Pakistan-Afghan border in Torkham since Friday as a protest against the imposition of tax and submission of security with the Afghan authorities, they said.
More than 100 tankers stopped oil supply to the US-led coalition forces on Friday after the Afghan government asked the Pakistani exporters to pay tax and submit security with the Afghan trade commission in Peshawar or the Afghan customs authorities at Torkham.
The Afghan authorities asked the owners of oil tankers to pay Rs4,000 tax per document clearance of the vehicle and submit Rs50,000 as security with the Afghan trade commission in Peshawar or the Afghan customs authorities.
The owners of oil tankers’ companies rejected the new tax and procedure adopted to export petrol to Afghanistan and parked over 100 vehicles at Torkham and the main road leading to Afghanistan, sources told Dawn by telephone.
Officials of the oil tankers company on Friday left for Afghanistan to negotiated with the Afghan finance department in Kabul. The company negotiated with the Afghan authorities and agreed on some related issues.
On Saturday, more than 50 oil tankers of Al-Haj company completed their documents and left for Afghanistan. While another major company Mengal Limited had not yet taken the decision and still the company’s vehicles were parked at Torkham border, officials at Pakistan-Afghan border confirmed. They said that the Mengal Limited would also end their strike by Sunday.
|
|
|
|
