PESHAWAR, Feb 19: Record snowfall and heavy rains have almost paralysed trade activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan for a couple of weeks, officials said here.

Customs officials attribute the suspension of trade activities via Kherlachi and Tari Mengal in the Kurram Agency to heavy snowfall.

An official at the Kohat customs office told Dawn that the areas across the border close to Tari Mingal and Kherlachi customs checkpoints had received over 12-feet snow during in the last couple of days, blocking the main routes leading to Afghanistan's Paktika provinces.

"Two or three vehicles are being cleared at these two customs check-posts daily since snowfall and rains hit the region." Sources said the Pakistan and Afghan authorities had sent bulldozers to the affected areas to clear roads.

However, according to the sources, trade activities was continue via Shaheedan Dand in the Kurram Agency and Ghulam Khan in the North Waziristan Agency. Officials said the volume of export and import between the two countries via Torkhum check post, west of Peshawar, had reduced because of the bad weather.

They said that in normal days 300 to 400 vehicles, carrying export goods, were cleared at the Torkhum checkpoint daily, but at present about 30 per cent decrease in vehicular traffic had been recorded. They said the Kabul-Jalalabad highway was in bad shape, and the route was not feasible for heavy vehicles in the current circumstances.