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PESHAWAR: Importers and exporters’ associations of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have expressed concern over harassment of drivers carrying vegetables and fruits to Afghanistan by workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The party’s workers, during their ongoing sit-in against Nato supplies, have forced traders to shift 50% of their business to Balochistan, said association members.
In a joint news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, K-P Pak-Afghan Dosti Importers and Exporters Association Provincial Chairman Niaz Mohammad said, “We are only supplying non-Afghan Transit Trade cargo, like food commodities, but even then our drivers are being harassed. Terming the protesters’ actions “unacceptable”, Niaz said the PTI-led provincial government was voted in to create employment and solve people’s problems instead of adding to them.
“We are willing to show documents that prove we transport food commodities to Afghanistan. But the harassment of drivers needs to be stopped as it is affecting our business as well as trade between the two countries”.
He said they were forced to move half of their trucks via the Chaman crossing in Balochistan which not only dents employment opportunities in K-P, but is also more costly.
Niaz said that around 450 consignments of fruits and vegetables were exported to Afghanistan daily during the off-season. The number ranges between 1,000 and 2,000 in the peak season. At present only 50 to 100 containers were crossing over per day, Niaz added.
The present Pak-Afghan export target of $2 billion will be hard to achieve if PTI workers continue to be a hindrance to all sorts of trade between the two countries, he stated.
Niaz said the province’s economy was majorly dependent on the export of food and other items to Afghanistan, adding that the route was also used as a trade corridor to several Central Asian republics.
At the conference, K-P Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Import and Export Association Provincial Chairman Aftab Alam said, “Around 300 to 400 exporters have shifted businesses to Balochistan and others are pondering to follow suit”. He warned that K-P’s economy would suffer a major setback if trade between the two countries declines further.
Side effects: Food traders demand end to PTI’s ‘harassment’ – The Express Tribune
The party’s workers, during their ongoing sit-in against Nato supplies, have forced traders to shift 50% of their business to Balochistan, said association members.
In a joint news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, K-P Pak-Afghan Dosti Importers and Exporters Association Provincial Chairman Niaz Mohammad said, “We are only supplying non-Afghan Transit Trade cargo, like food commodities, but even then our drivers are being harassed. Terming the protesters’ actions “unacceptable”, Niaz said the PTI-led provincial government was voted in to create employment and solve people’s problems instead of adding to them.
“We are willing to show documents that prove we transport food commodities to Afghanistan. But the harassment of drivers needs to be stopped as it is affecting our business as well as trade between the two countries”.
He said they were forced to move half of their trucks via the Chaman crossing in Balochistan which not only dents employment opportunities in K-P, but is also more costly.
Niaz said that around 450 consignments of fruits and vegetables were exported to Afghanistan daily during the off-season. The number ranges between 1,000 and 2,000 in the peak season. At present only 50 to 100 containers were crossing over per day, Niaz added.
The present Pak-Afghan export target of $2 billion will be hard to achieve if PTI workers continue to be a hindrance to all sorts of trade between the two countries, he stated.
Niaz said the province’s economy was majorly dependent on the export of food and other items to Afghanistan, adding that the route was also used as a trade corridor to several Central Asian republics.
At the conference, K-P Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Import and Export Association Provincial Chairman Aftab Alam said, “Around 300 to 400 exporters have shifted businesses to Balochistan and others are pondering to follow suit”. He warned that K-P’s economy would suffer a major setback if trade between the two countries declines further.
Side effects: Food traders demand end to PTI’s ‘harassment’ – The Express Tribune
