PESHAWAR, Aug 31: People associated with the Afghan transit trade have expressed concern over the shifting of the dry port from Peshawar to Jamrud, near the Afghanistan border, and called for upgrading facilities at the Amangarh dry port.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, Gul Afzal Shinwari, Farooq Ahmad, Mr Khairullah, Gul Rehman and other traders conveyed their reservations to Brig Faheem Ahmad of the National Logistic Cell (NLC) at a recent meeting.

Under a federal government decision, all Afghan transit goods reaching here from the seaport will be cleared only at the Jamrud NLC terminal, instead of the Peshawar dry port located adjacent to the Cantonment railway station. The NLC has completed civil works and installed modern scanners at the new terminal.

Mr Ziaul Haq said security, lack of facilities and higher transportation charges were the main concerns of traders. He said they had also called upon the NLC to improve services at its Amangarh port. He said Brig Ahmad had assured them that their reservations would be conveyed to the authorities.