ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has withdrawn most of the customs staff deployed at Customs Border Stations of Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi and Angoor Adda due to security concerns.
This has been officially admitted by the FBR in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to the FBR, the customs clearance, both of exports and imports, is suspended at the Customs Border Stations of Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi and Angoor Adda since October 12, 2025 due to unprovoked aggression from Afghan side jeopardizing the security of the Customs Inspectors and staff posted at these stations.
Due to security concerns majority of staff has temporarily reported to Headquarters. A small number of inspector and sepoys is still present at each Border Station to start the customs clearance process as soon as the situation normalizes and borders open for trade.
In the meanwhile, the Collectorates of Northern Region have cleared import consignments, which had arrived at these stations before the border closure, to facilitate the trade and to avert shortage of essential consumer goods in the market.
At the Customs Stations of Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi and Angoor Adda, falling under the jurisdiction of Northern Region of Appraisement, 363 import vehicles where GDs were filed have been cleared. At Torkham, a border station which handles the maximum cargo in the Northern Region, around 255 export vehicles and 24 import vehicles are still standing at the terminal while 200 vehicles are stranded along the Jamrud-Landi Kotal road.
At Chaman Border Customs Station, customs clearance is suspended since October 15, 2025, and as of today, five import vehicles and 25 export vehicles are pending clearance. The importers and exporters to whom these vehicles pertain are reluctant to file GDs. Besides import and export vehicles, around 500 vehicles carrying transit trade cargo are also waiting crossing of the border at Torkham and Chaman.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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