Afghanistan: Fast-Track Customs in Nangarhar

People who regularly cross the Afghan-Pakistani border in the eastern Nangarhar province say customs procedures can be quick or extremely slow, depending on how well-connected you are.

Businessmen and freight vehicle drivers say they have to wait several days at Torkham for Afghan customs officers to complete checks on their goods. However, those with the right connections in the customs and police services, and the ability to pay a sweetener, get waved through with no checks at all. 

Shakil Ahmad Sayed is an IWPR-trained radio reporter in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. 

This report was produced as part of the Afghan Critical Mass Media Reporting in Uruzgan and Nangarhar project, and is also published on the Afghan Centre for Investigative Journalism website which IWPR has set up locally.