Landi Kotal: Border trade activities, including the transportation of goods, at the Torkham border resumed on Thursday following negotiations between a delegation of transporters representing the Khyber Transport Association (KTA) with the National Logistics Cell (NLC), customs, and security officials, according to a news report.
Both parties negotiated the terms of releasing empty vehicles and the practice of toll fees under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA). The KTA had previously expressed their reservations about the toll fee practice by performing a wheel jam protest. However, once the negotiations were completed, activities at the Torkham border resumed, and the protests were called off. KTA President Shakir Afridi was present at these meetings.
It is pertinent to mention here that these events happened after the federal government allowed reopening the Torkham and Chaman borders for six days per week. Previously, trade activities had remained closed since March 27 in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All trade activities at these borders are to strictly follow the government’s anti-COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).
