LAHORE: The fourth Istanbul-bound freight train, which departed during the third week of March from Pakistan, is stuck at Taftan after the freight forwarder in Turkey allegedly refused to send wagons for the trans-shipment of goods at Zahidan towards the final destination.

The problem emerged due to a dispute between the Turkish and Pakistani freight forwarders over profits, Dawn learnt on Friday.

Meanwhile, one of the exporters has protested over the situation and approached the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Secretariat in Tehran for ensuring timely arrival of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) train in Turkey.

“After several meetings with stakeholders including Pakistani freight forwarder and Pakistan Railways (PR), we decided to use this mode of transportation. On February 28, our material was lifted from our premises after we paid Rs2.061 million (for three containers at US$3,800 each) to the freight forwarder. But one month has passed but we do not know the exact status of our material,” the Karachi-based company’s official said in a letter to the ECO Secretariat. “When the train reached Taftan, a dispute arose between the Turkish and Pakistani freight forwarders. The Turkish forwarder says he should have more share in the profit margin while the Pakistani company wants more. That is why the train is stuck at the Taftan border for the last few days,” the source explained.

When contacted, the PR’s Quetta Divisional Superintendent Ali Muhammad Afridi said he was unware about the dispute with the forwarder. “The ITI train had reached Taftan on March 29. As far as I know, it cannot move ahead due to some issues in the Customs clearance-related document,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2022