KHYBER: Frequent traffic snarls have been reported on the Peshawar-Torkham Highway to the inconvenience of travellers with customs clearing agents and transporters blaming them on a long delay in the completion of the customs terminal at Torkham, slow goods clearance, and the traffic police’s “ineptitude.”

The National Logistic Cell (NLC) has repeatedly promised the operationalisation of the customs terminal by December 2023 with a parking facility for at least 500 vehicles.

The NLC officials told Dawn that the terminal would have all modern facilities for speedy electronic scanning and a customs clearance system in order to provide maximum relief to transporters and traders alike while minimising traffic congestion on the road leading to the Torkham border.

Customs clearing agents and transporters alleged that while the NLC had yet to come up with an explanation for the delay in the completion of work on the terminal, the customs officials, too, were showing no urgency in rectifying their obsolete system of goods clearance, troubling them.

Transporters complain of long delay in completion of customs terminal, slow goods clearance

Torkham Customs Clearing Agents Association president Aimal Shinwari told reporters at the Landi Kotal District Press Club on Monday that the “prolonged and undue” delay in the clearance of export goods as well as the mismanagement of heavy traffic by traffic police cost the exchequer heavily, besides seriously affecting the country’s trade with Afghanistan.

He said both exporters and importers were at a loss to understand why customs officials were delaying the clearance of vehicles loaded with Afghan transit goods as little time was required to fulfil the formality.

Gulat Shinwari, another customs clearing agent, argued that while it took a vehicle carrying goods three days to reach Peshawar from Karachi, the same was stopped at the Torkham highway for over a week by the traffic police on the pretext of no parking space at the Torkham customs offices.

On the other hand, transporters accused traffic police of asking them for money to get permission to go to the Torkham border point out of turn.

Sherin Jan, a transport driver, told Dawn that the traffic police would allow only those drivers who paid them.

He said the sought-after money ranged from Rs5,000 to Rs15,000 depending on the urgency of the transporter’s need to take merchandise across the border to ensure the goods’ delivery to the destination in Afghanistan.

Adeel Khan, a shopkeeper in Peshawar’s Karkhano Market, alleged that the Khyber traffic police allowed double parking on the main road for vehicles loaded with goods, leaving little road space for “safe” movement.

He alleged that traffic police mostly allowed loaded vehicles to use the wrong side of the road at Ali Masjid point, causing the road to be blocked for several hours due to the oncoming traffic as well.

Head of traffic police for the main highway wasn’t available on his mobile phone despite repeated calls.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2024