KHYBER
Local transporters criticized the government for restricting entry of Pakistani drivers via Torkham, stuck in Afghanistan, in a protest sit-in that took place at Takya ,Sultan Khel village on the Pak-Afghan highway in Landi Kotal on Monday.
Speaking during the protest, transporter leaders Rehman Zeb Afridi, Bakhtiar Khan and others said that the prolonged closure of Torkham multiplied misfires of the people in addition with restricting entry of the truckers and demanded the immediate return of Pakistani drivers and vehicles trapped in Afghanistan for the last eight months.
They urged the government to take urgent humanitarian measures, especially with Eid-ul-Adha approaching, so that the affected drivers could reunite with their families and celebrate the religious festival with their children.
They appealed to the Pakistani government and relevant authorities to allow the stranded transporters and drivers to re-enter Pakistan without further delay.
Dozens of Pakistani drivers and their vehicles have remained stuck on the Afghan side of the border for the past eight months, causing severe financial and personal hardships for their families, they regretted.
The protesters warned that if their demands were not addressed immediately, they would not give up their protest.
However after assurance granted by the Assistant Commissioner Inamullah Wazir that the issue would be taken up with higher authorities to seek an immediate solution, the protestors gave up their agitation.
The transporters, while giving a three days deadline, said that if stranded Pakistani drivers and vehicles were not allowed to return to Pakistan within the stipulated time, they would block the Pak-Afghan road as part of an expanded protest campaign.
They further cautioned that vehicles carrying Afghan families returning to Afghanistan would also be stopped if their demands were ignored.
Due to the protest, the Pak-Afghan highway was suspended for some time and was resumed after negotiation and the protestors.
