PARACHINAR: Tribal elders and traders have demanded of the government to declare Thall-Parachinar Road as transit route between Pakistan and Afghanistan to explore commercial and employment opportunities in the under-developed region.

Addressing a joint press conference here the other day, Haji Rauf Hussain, Haji Noor Zaman Bangash and Nazir Ahmad Khan said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan had flourished through designated checkposts since government restored peace in the Kurram valley.

They said that daily import and export with Afghanistan through Kherlachi and Borki, two designated border checkposts some 20 kilometres west of Parachinar, had increased and more than 50loaded trucks passed through the border points daily.

Local trader Haji Rauf said that Kherlachi and Borki checkposts had been serving as major trade corridors with Afghanistan after Torkham checkpost.

He added that the tribal elders had approached Governor Engineer Shaukatullah to take up the matter with federal government to declare Kherlachi road as transit route.

`The governor had agreed to discuss the matter with the federal government,` he added Mr Rauf said that customs had already deployed officials at these designated border points for clearance of export and import goods, while Afghanistan`s ministry of trade and commerce had shifted offices and staff from Gerdez (Paktia province) to the border to facilitate traders from the two sides.