SCCI voices concern over sluggish clearing of good trucks at Torkham.

PESHAWAR -- The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed concern over slow-clearing of Pak-Afghan goods trucks and lack of facilities at Torkham border.

The SCCI has also urged the government to take pragmatic steps to remove hurdles to enhance the mutual trade and transit trade with neighbouring Afghanistan and export to central Asian countries.

In a statement issued here on Friday, SCCI acting president, Shahid Hussain said that the Pak-Afghan bilateral and transit trade have slowed down owing to sluggish clearing process at Torkham, which has created traffic mess due to long good trucks on Pak-Afghan route.

Therefore, he urged the National Logistic Cell (NLC) to increase number of scanners to accelerate clearance of export, import, transit trade goods vehicles as well as empty trucks to give boost the trade between the two neighbouring countries, besides to mitigate difficulties of traders, importers and importers and prevent them from further financial losses.

The chamber president said the custom authorities were timely issued gate pass but the clearance process of export, import goods vehicles and empty vehicles have declined in absence of a rapid system which has impacted negatively mutual and transit between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Similarly, the SCCI chief condemned the collection of hundreds of rupees as fees at Shakas, Bara and Takht Baig and called upon the authorities concerned to take notice immediately. He said the opening of the Torkham and Ghulam...