ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has ordered the suspension of Afghan Transit Trade transportation from Karachi ports until further notice due to recent clashes at the Durand Line.
An important meeting was held at the Directorate of Transit Trade Headquarters, Customs House Karachi, chaired by the Director General (DG) Afghan Transit Trade, with participation from the Directors of Afghan Transit Quetta and Peshawar via Zoom.
Following the meeting, Customs General Order 98.2025 was issued, stating that the transportation of Afghan Transit Trade has been suspended indefinitely due to the lack of storage capacity at the Quetta and Peshawar customs stations, which are already overcrowded with containers.
The order directed that all terminals offload containers already loaded on vehicles and cancel all gate passes related to Afghan transit shipments.
The suspension will remain in effect until further notice.
Following the directive, all terminals at Karachi Port and Port Qasim have halted the clearance of Afghan transit trade containers.
According to customs sources, long queues of containers are now seen at the South Asia Pakistan Terminal (SAPT), with hundreds of containers loaded on trucks waiting for clearance, while many others are stuck en route to Quetta and Peshawar, where drivers await the reopening of border operations.