On the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Customs has deputed additional staff at Torkham border to facilitate trade and expedite clearance of baggage and cargo to Afghanistan.
The customs clearance will be managed through three shifts. The day and night customs clearance operations will greatly facilitate the import and export at Torkham leading to a significant reduction of transport charges and fast movement of trade.
As a prelude, the customs operations have already been expanded, starting from 7.00 A.M. in the morning till 9.00 pm, since the past two months. The senior Customs Operations hierarchy paid a visit to Torkham to ensure the launch of these operations in the coming days.
The connecting requirements for equipment and support apparatus are being placed on the ground through the cooperation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Said operations for round the clock customs operations are going to be started shortly for which a formal ceremony will also take place in the presence of federal government officials and FBR administration.
In order to comply with the directions of Prime Minister’s Adviser on Establishment and the urgent need for expansion of the operations at Torkham, the Member (Customs Operations) has made all efforts and withdrawn customs staff for deployment in order to facilitate and expand the trade at Torkham.
To implement the directions, 54 customs personnel consisting of Superintendents, Appraisers, Inspectors and other supporting staff have been withdrawn from other formations and deployed at Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement Peshawar for Torkham.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Establishment matters Arbab Shezad has convened meetings to address the matter on a war footing. Accordingly, Dr. Jawwad Uwais Agha, Member Customs (Operations), Federal Board of Revenue, Islamabad has deployed a large number of customs personnel to cater to the urgent requirements at Torkham Customs.
The exports and Transit to Afghanistan bear much promise for expansion of the customs operations at Torkham and the customs department being the premier agency has put its teams in place to brace up to this situation. Around 12 thousand passengers traverse across this border station daily and their facilitation and baggage clearance is an area being addressed by Customs, besides around 300 empty containers (after offloading their cargo in Afghanistan) are also sent back daily from the Afghan side.
