INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A number of businessmen in Kandahar province say traders are still facing problems at Spin Boldak crossing as Pakistan officials are
stopping trucks carrying commercial goods from entering the country.Traders say hundreds of vehicles carrying commercial goods have been
stopped by Pakistan, most of which are carrying fresh produce.Local chamber of commerce officials have confirmed this and say the trucks
clear Afghansitan&s land port but get stopped at Pakistan&s entry gate.&Hundreds of our vehicles, … [carrying] grapes, cucumbers,
pomegranates and onions, have passed through the [Afghanistan] gate and are stopped at their (Pakistan) customs for five days, and we have
documents and evidence in this regard, and they don&t allow our vehicles until they are sure that the goods are spoiled and damaged,& said
Mohammad Shafiq, head of Spin Boldak Chamber of Commerce in Kandahar.Other traders have also complained about the increase in customs
tariffs by Pakistan and say that these tariffs are &back-breaking&.&Recently, the government of Pakistan decided that they want
approximately 25 percent of taxes from us, and this is something that is against the international norms,& said Saadullah Torjan, vice
president of the Spin Boldak Kandahar Chamber of Commerce&Yes, Pakistan has caused a lot of problems for Afghans and they (Pakistan) stop
the vehicles of traders& goods for five or even six days,& said Mohammad Idris, a businessman in Kandahar.Truck drivers also complain about
the problems at the land port and say that they wait for several nights before they can deliver their goods.Mohammad Karim, a driver in
Kandahar, says: &The Pakistani side creates problems for us under various pretexts.&Officials from the Border Commissioner in Spin Boldak
meanwhile pointed out that Kabul and Islamabad had agreed to the Spin Boldak gate being open 24 hours a day for commercial goods, but the
Pakistani side has not fulfilled this agreement so far.&Kabul and Islamabad had agreed that the Spin Boldak gate should be active 24 hours
[a day] for business, and in this regard, we have talked several times with the Pakistani authorities that the gate should be open 24 hours
a day, but the other side has not agreed so far,& said Noorul Baqi Ahmad, the border commissioner at Spin Boldak, Kandahar.While the
authorities of the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan have repeatedly said that they will deal with the problems of traders in the ports between
the two countries, on the contrary, the problems of traders are increasing day by day.The post Spin Boldak land port an ongoing problem for
Afghan traders first appeared on Ariana News.
