KHYBER AGENCY: The transport community of Khyber on Sunday staged a protest against the alleged extortion of money by the officials in Afghanistan.
The demonstration was organised by the Khyber Transport Union at Takia, main Pak-Afghan Road of tehsil Landikotal and hundreds of transporter, besides a large numbers of local tribesmen participated in it.
Addressing the gathering, the union leaders including Shakir Afridi, Attaullah Afridi and Mustaqil Afridi flayed the Afghan officials for their misbehaviour towards Pakistani transporters and said from the entry point at Torkham to Kabul, the Afghan officials illegally took Rs.40,000 from each Pakistani vehicle while the Afghanistan trucks were exempted of such types of ghost tolls.
They alleged that any transporter refusing to pay the money was subjected to physical torture and their identity cards and other documents were torn
to pieces.
Only yesterday, a driver returning from Afghanistan was badly beaten by the officials when he refused to pay the so called toll taxes and he had to be admitted to the Landikotal hospital.
Transport is the lonely business of tribesmen but officials on both sides of the border tease them on more than two dozen fake check-points initiated to receive extortion from them, they lamented.
As per Afghan officials’ sources, the Pak officials from Karkhano to Torkham border on a number of check-posts snatched money from Afghan transporters and “in return we pay in the same coin to the Pak
transporters”.
The transporters threatened that if their grievance was not addressed by August 25, they would have no other option but to begin a wheel jam strike.
The protesters were holding placards inscribed with slogans in their favour and were chanting full-throat slogans against Afghan officials. They dispersed peacefully after filing their agitation.
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