The Islamic Emirate said that they have provided facilities for transit trucks of neighboring and regional countries.

The spokesperson for the caretaker Afghan government told TOLOnews that the security and operations at the ports and highways are the main facilitators for transit trucks to drive inside Afghanistan.

“All the highways that connect Afghanistan with the region have been secure and transit trucks can easily reach their destinations. Second, at all ports of the country, facilities have been provided for transit trucks. Third, traffic is properly managed by teams if problems occur. Afghanistan is now a good direction for transit,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

In the meantime, officials at the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that being landlocked and lacking extended railways costs the Afghan traders large amounts of money to import goods.

A member of the board of ACCI, Khan Jan Alokozay, said that existing issues at Karachi port is one of the biggest challenges for Afghan traders in terms of transit.

“Our transit imports are too expensive. For example, if we import from Russia and China, we are doing it through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other countries, which is very costly. The ports, Chabahar and Bandar Abbas have their own problems. Through Pakistan’s Karachi, we cannot call it a transit for being too expensive,” said Khan Jan Alokozay, a boardmember of the ACCI.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said that transit is a key source of income for Afghanistan which injects direct and indirect revenue to the country.

“Transit is one of the important parts of trade in Afghanistan, which generates direct and indirect revenue to the government’s treasury. Transit creates employment because cars operate which need oil. We are trying to provide further facilities for transit,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, spokesman for the ministry of finance.

According to ACCI, 500 loaded trucks of Afghan traders worth 1.5 billion USD are still stuck in Karachi port.