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Pakistani Fruit, Vegetables Enter Afghanistan Without Test

Documents seen by TOLOnews reveal that Pakistani fruit and vegetables are imported to Afghanistan without required quality test and that the trend is ongoing for the past two years.

Investors who import fruit and vegetables from Pakistan use two types of phytosanitary certificates – a document issued by Pakistani institutions to approve the quality of fruit and vegetables. One type of the certificates, drivers said, is fake therefore it provides the ground for brokers to sell the fake certificates to drivers in order to allow their imports to enter Afghanistan through Torkham Gate – the crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One type of the certificates was announced invalid by Pakistani government two years ago. A similar step was taken by Afghan Ministry of Agriculture last winter when it announced that the Pakistani certificates, used by drivers, are invalid.  

The video shows that some deals, on the certificates, are done freely between the brokers and drivers who want to cross the Torkham Gate towards Afghanistan. The footage shows that a number of Afghan government officials are also involved in dealings.

Afghanistan does not have the capacity to undertake the required quality test for vegetables and fruit in its ports. Therefore, the quarantine department of Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan in the Torkham customs office avoids to accept the real health certificate of Pakistan brought by drivers as shown in the video. Instead, one employee of the authority motivates investors and drivers to buy the fake certificates from a man named Muzammil. But when Muzammil finds out that he is pictured, he refuses any involvement in this matter. 

The footage shows that later the customs official asks drivers to call for the help of the Finance Ministry’s contracted employees who will charge the drivers for processing the phytosanitary certificates. 

The fake document is dealt for 8,000 AFs by investors and drivers. However, according to drivers, it takes a long and even impossible process to achieve the valid certificate for the imported fruit and vegetables which is issued in Peshawar City of Pakistan.  

Drivers in Torkham said they have never achieved the certificate in Pakistan and that they buy them in Torkham.

The footage shows one driver who is standing in front of his truck loaded with orange. He says his truck is stopped in Torkham Gate for three years due to the lack of the certificate. 

The Ministry of Finance says the institution has employed contracted workers to help the drivers in processing the certificates. Spokesman of the ministry said others except the contracted employees are not allowed to get the certificates for drivers.

“Anyone, except those who have not been hired through proper exam and those who do not have the required documents, are not allowed to work as a broker at the customs (office in Torkham),” Ajmal Hamid Abdul Rahimzai, spokesman for Ministry of Finance, told TOLOnews. 

“Government should be serious about the issue and it should take action against such elements in line with the law,” said Abdul Latif Wahidi, civil society activist in Nangarhar. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) meanwhile confirmed that two types of Pakistani phytosanitary certificates are used in Afghan ports over the past several years. 

“It was decided to inform the Pakistani ministry of agriculture through official channel to issue a certificate which can prevent the distribution of fake certificates,” MAIL spokesman Akbar Rustami said.

Pakistani Fruit, Vegetables Enter Afghanistan Without Test

Ministry of Agriculture says the institution will send an official letter to relevant Pakistani organizations to overcome the problem.

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Documents seen by TOLOnews reveal that Pakistani fruit and vegetables are imported to Afghanistan without required quality test and that the trend is ongoing for the past two years.

Investors who import fruit and vegetables from Pakistan use two types of phytosanitary certificates – a document issued by Pakistani institutions to approve the quality of fruit and vegetables. One type of the certificates, drivers said, is fake therefore it provides the ground for brokers to sell the fake certificates to drivers in order to allow their imports to enter Afghanistan through Torkham Gate – the crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One type of the certificates was announced invalid by Pakistani government two years ago. A similar step was taken by Afghan Ministry of Agriculture last winter when it announced that the Pakistani certificates, used by drivers, are invalid.  

The video shows that some deals, on the certificates, are done freely between the brokers and drivers who want to cross the Torkham Gate towards Afghanistan. The footage shows that a number of Afghan government officials are also involved in dealings.

Afghanistan does not have the capacity to undertake the required quality test for vegetables and fruit in its ports. Therefore, the quarantine department of Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan in the Torkham customs office avoids to accept the real health certificate of Pakistan brought by drivers as shown in the video. Instead, one employee of the authority motivates investors and drivers to buy the fake certificates from a man named Muzammil. But when Muzammil finds out that he is pictured, he refuses any involvement in this matter. 

The footage shows that later the customs official asks drivers to call for the help of the Finance Ministry’s contracted employees who will charge the drivers for processing the phytosanitary certificates. 

The fake document is dealt for 8,000 AFs by investors and drivers. However, according to drivers, it takes a long and even impossible process to achieve the valid certificate for the imported fruit and vegetables which is issued in Peshawar City of Pakistan.  

Drivers in Torkham said they have never achieved the certificate in Pakistan and that they buy them in Torkham.

The footage shows one driver who is standing in front of his truck loaded with orange. He says his truck is stopped in Torkham Gate for three years due to the lack of the certificate. 

The Ministry of Finance says the institution has employed contracted workers to help the drivers in processing the certificates. Spokesman of the ministry said others except the contracted employees are not allowed to get the certificates for drivers.

“Anyone, except those who have not been hired through proper exam and those who do not have the required documents, are not allowed to work as a broker at the customs (office in Torkham),” Ajmal Hamid Abdul Rahimzai, spokesman for Ministry of Finance, told TOLOnews. 

“Government should be serious about the issue and it should take action against such elements in line with the law,” said Abdul Latif Wahidi, civil society activist in Nangarhar. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) meanwhile confirmed that two types of Pakistani phytosanitary certificates are used in Afghan ports over the past several years. 

“It was decided to inform the Pakistani ministry of agriculture through official channel to issue a certificate which can prevent the distribution of fake certificates,” MAIL spokesman Akbar Rustami said.

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