KHYBER: Transporters and customs clearing agents suffered as an electronic scanner at the Torkham border went out of order only hours after the opening of the crossing here on Friday.

The clearing agents staged a demonstration on Saturday.

Sources told Dawn that the scanner stopped working due to a technical fault, which delayed clearance of goods.

They said a technical issue was also detected in the vehicle weighing machine (kanta) on the Afghan side of the border hampering the import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Afghanistan.

The National Logistic Cell officials insisted that they were in contact with the Chinese manufacturers of the scanner for fixing the fault that would happen “soon”.

Customs clearing agents stage demonstration

They rejected the claim of transporters about a change in the scanner’s software.

Meanwhile, as the situation on Torkham border returned to normal, hundreds of families, which had shifted to safer places in Landi Kotal, returned to Bacha Maina residential compound near the border crossing.

Resident Sabir Khan told Dawn that the majority of around 1,000 families of Bacha Maina shifted their minor and female members to Landi Kotal when Afghan border forces targeted their houses with heavy firing on Sept 6.

He said one or two male members of every family stayed put to protect houses, while some Afghan families, too, didn’t leave the area as had no other abode in the nearby localities.

The resident said all schools in the area had reopened with their children attending their classes without fear.

Taxi driver Amin Jan said it was business as usual as thousands of Afghans were moving between the two countries and used taxis.

He said the nine days long border closure stressed out hundreds of taxi drivers as they had no work.

“At least 300 to 400 taxi cabs leave Torkham taxi stand on a daily basis,” he said.

Torkham labour union leader Farman Shinwari said hundreds of labourers and porters had resumed work to help passengers, mostly Afghans, carry luggage to the border and the taxi stand.

He, however, said the illegal cross-border trade didn’t “resume” due to the effective ban slapped by security forces.

Mr Shinwari said forces raided warehouses and seized smuggled goods but their owners fled.

He said boys took sugar, jaggery, milk and cream to Afghanistan and smuggled soap, shampoo, chocolate, biscuit and Chinese fabric into Pakistan.

The unionist said around 3,000 boys were involved in the cross-border trade.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2023