Trade has been suspended at the Pakistan-Iran border in Gwadar district of Balochistan, prompting fears among traders that truckloads of fresh fruit will go bad.
Hundreds of container-laden trailers and other vehicles were stopped on both sides of the border due to the closure of the Rimdan border crossing, the second most important border checkpoint between Pakistan and Iran after Taftan.
The Rimdan border crossing was opened in December 2020.
Traders claim a recently deputed FIA inspector has stopped hundreds of vehicles at the border by making passports and visas mandatory for drivers on both sides. However, they say, drivers from Chaman, Mand, and Panjgur are exempt from carrying passports and visas under the Pakistan-Iran trade agreement.
The FBR collects more than 500 million rupees a month in taxes from the Rimdan border crossing, according to a report released by the FBR last year.
There is also a risk of fresh fruits and vegetable worth tens of millions of rupees being wasted, traders say.
Trucks carrying mangoes, grapes, apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables have been stranded on the both sides of the border.
Not only the traders will face losses running into tens of millions of rupees but the government will also incur heavy losses in terms of foreign exchange, say the traders.
The business community has appealed to the Director General FIA and Deputy Commissioner Gwadar to take notice of the situation and reopen the border crossing.
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