LANDI KOTAL: The agitating customs clearing agents at Torkham agreed to end their five-day strike after successful negotiations with the customs officials in Peshawar on Tuesday.

Both the parties reached a written agreement for resolution of various demands put forward by the striking clearing agents last Friday.

The clearing agents were given written assurance about establishment of a facilitation centre at the trade hall in Torkham with access points for internet connection which will serve as a backup for PTCL service when it stops working during customs clearance.

“The matter of providing access to scanned image to customs inspectors for attaching the examination report is under process with NLC and it has been provided with list of IT requirements and sample tender for implementation,” the agreement said, adding NLC staff for customs terminal’s Gate-In and Gate-Out would set up their terminal at the customs trade hall for swift facilitation. The customs officials also agreed to reduce the Web Based One Custom token fee.

It was also agreed upon that the timing for clearance would be increased from 7am to 5.30pm and could be extended till 9pm in case of pending trucks loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables.

It was also agreed that examination staff and Gate-In and Gate-Out staff would also be increased in order to expedite the process of goods clearance.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2019