LANDI KOTAL: As many as 16 oil tankers crossed into Afghanistan via the Torkham border on Saturday.

The convoy of oil tankers reached Torkham amid tight security and crossed the border after necessary checking by the Pakistani border authorities.

Sources said no prior intimation about the oil supply was furnished with the concerned authorities at the border and movement of convoy was kept secret till they entered Khyber Agency on Saturday morning.

Though there has been no official ban on oil supply to Afghanistan nor have the oil supply companies announced any suspension over security reasons, oil tanker owners and contractors avoid frequent use of Khyber Pass for their onward journey to Afghanistan in order to escape militant attacks. Hundreds of oil tankers carrying fuel supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan via the Torkham border, the shortest route from Karachi to Kabul, have been attacked by militants. The transporters attached to the business have also been targeted.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Afghan transporters left Torkham for Kabul to hold talks with government officials in order to persuade them to waive off ‘land tax’ imposed on the transporters at the Torkham by the Afghan customs.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2016