Exports through Torkham border crossing increasing: PAJCCI

PESHAWAR: Director, Pak-Afghan Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) and President of Frontier Customs Agents Association (FCAA), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has said that the export volume of Pakistani products to Afghanistan through Torkham border point was continuously increasing.

During the months of July, August and September the trade volume increased up to $161 million thus contributing $2.3 million to the national kitty, Sarhadi told media at Torkham border point, said a press release here on Sunday.

Sarhadi said that easing of trade policies with Afghanistan, construction of modern terminal at Torkham and operationalization of Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) had contributed to the improved export volume.

The Director PAJCCI said that ITTMS project also includes customs station, baggage scanner, walk-through gate, display centre, warehouse, installation of forks for weighing vehicles, banks, offices of customs clearing and forwarding agents and import, export and Afghan transit from Afghanistan.

The Torkham border crossing would become the hub of trade activities in the region in future due to the availability of clearance facilities and other facilities for the goods entering the trade, he said.

The Director PAJCCI noted that following an agreement with Tajikistan there would be around 150,000 commercial vehicles’ movement on the border point on a daily basis that would ultimately promote the bilateral trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries besides providing employment opportunities to thousands in Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022