PESHAWAR: The Pakistan-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) has urged the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to allow clearance of thousands of stranded goods-laden containers to protect traders from both countries from suffering massive financial losses.
In a joint press statement issued on Thursday, PAJCCI Senior Vice President Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and Director of the PAJCCI Afghan Chapter Ahmad Shah said that the two-month closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has left around 7,000 to 8,000 containers stranded, awaiting clearance.
Non-clearance of the containers has caused losses of billions of rupees to businessmen in the region, and the amount continues to rise each passing day due to mounting detention charges, payments to drivers and cleaners, and other expenses, they added.
Both the PAJCCI office bearers requested governments of both the countries to chalk out a mechanism for clearance of this stuck up goods for saving the businessmen from enormous losses.
Apart from Pak-Afghan trade, the border closure has also stopped passage of trucks carrying export goods to Central Asian countries. The businessmen of both the countries and relevant sectors should work together with the full support of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry to develop a plan of action to end the stalemate otherwise, they suggested.
