Pakistan blocks 300 trucks carrying fruits and vegetables from Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Embassy in Islamabad announced on Friday that Pakistan has prevented the entry of 300 trucks carrying fruits and vegetables from Afghanistan.

Officials of the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, in a meeting with Maria Kazi, Joint Secretary (Foreign Trade) at Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce, called for allowing the vehicles to unload goods at their final destinations.

Based on the embassy’s statement, Afghan businessmen’s trucks have been stopped at Torkham, Spin Boldak and Kharlachi crossings due to lack of temporary admission document (TAD).

Referring to the export season of Afghanistan’s fresh fruits and vegetables, the delegation of the Afghan embassy also expressed concern over the imposition of higher taxes on Afghanistan’s exports and considered this action to be detrimental to Afghan farmers and Pakistan’s domestic market.

The delegation of the Afghan embassy asked Pakistan to apply exemptions again, considering the past practice, until the preferential trade document between the two countries is finalized.

Meanwhile, Kazi, while expressing agreement about the clearance of the mentioned trucks, assured of expediting the process of issuing the temporary admission document and solving the problems of the Afghan truck drivers.

This comes as Afghan and Pakistani authorities agreed in recent months that truck drivers from both sides will need temporary admission document to travel between the two countries.

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