August 21, 2020
The Government of Pakistan has recently announced to install a scanner at the Torkham border crossing for the screening of Afghan transit cargo. The decision was taken to curtail the illegal movement of prohibited items. This process is intended to expedite the procedure of cargo clearance at the border which is currently facing immense congestion. The initiative could aid in the prevention of smuggling of illegal items, such as narcotics, electronic appliances, foreign currency, thus, saving billions of revenue for both countries.
It is worth mentioning here that CRSS has raised the demand of installing such scanners at Pakistan-Afghanistan crossing points at various avenues through media interactions and persistent lobbying with relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, CRSS held focus group discussions with Afghan traders and government stakeholders to table the concerns of the Afghan traders and recommend solutions against these issues. Such continued lobbying efforts are yielding positive outcomes, thus addressing several concerns of the Afghan business stakeholders.
