PESHAWAR, Nov 13: Flour mills in the NWFP have protested against the confiscation of more than two dozen vehicles loaded with wheat flour and barring the commodity’s movement to Afghanistan for the last five days.

FC personnel posted in Khyber and Kurram agencies had on Nov 9 seized 15 trucks carrying wheat flour to Afghanistan and arrested five people in Parachinar.

Mill owners claim that export of flour to Afghanistan via land is allowed under the trade policy and its movement can not be stopped. However, paramilitary forces argue that their action was in line with the government instructions.

A spokesperson for the FC told Dawn: “The action taken by paramilitary personnel was in accordance with the law and flour seized in two areas was being smuggled to Afghanistan.”

However, flour millers in a meeting on Monday rejected the allegation and claimed that the commodity being exported to Afghanistan could not be labelled ‘smuggling’.

The All Pakistan Flour Mills Association (NWFP chapter) meeting presided over by its chairman Mohammad Naeem Butt threatened to stop repayment of bank loans if the seized consignments were not released and their export to Afghanistan was not allowed, says a press release.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Butt said that the flour millers had not been given any satisfactory reply under which law or policy the paramilitary forces had seized the consignments.

He said that half of the trucks stopped by the paramilitary forces in Landi Kotal, sub-division of Khyber Agency, had been cleared by the customs at the Torkham border, which meant that their movement across the border was legal.

Mr Butt said he had contacted officials in the commerce ministry, the Federal Board of Revenue, customs and the provincial food department and he was informed that flour export to Afghanistan via land route was ‘still allowed’.

He said the association also wrote letters to the president, prime minister and interior minister seeking their intervention in the matter. “We abide by the law and the government must clarify the situation. If there is a ban on export of flour to Afghanistan, we must be informed because presently we have nothing in black and white and are worried about the fate of the seized commodity,” Mr Butt added.

Ibrahim Shinwari from Landi Kotal adds: Flour supply to Afghanistan remained suspended for the fifth day.

FC personnel deployed in Torkham are not even allowing the movement of a 20kg bag of flour which caused a significant increase in prices of the commodity in Afghanistan.

Border security forces stopped more than 30 trucks carrying wheat flour from crossing into Afghanistan.

Truck owners said they were facing financial losses in the shape of demurrage charges ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs8,000 on daily basis.