Cablegate: Af-Pak Border Glitch Endangers Isaf Convoy

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RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

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E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL EFIN AF
SUBJECT: AF-PAK BORDER GLITCH ENDANGERS ISAF CONVOY

1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A customs dispute August 30 at the Cheesh Chaman
border crossing (on the Kandahar-Quetta route) halted traffic in
both directions, including stalling Coalition supply trucks and
exposing them to insurgent fire. Approximately twenty cargo trucks
and three to four fuel tankers were damaged or destroyed. Officials
also discovered an IED on a tanker and a Pakistani Frontier Corps
bomb disposal unit defused the device. By 13:30, August 31, the
border was reopened. According to GIRoA sources, the customs
dispute appears to have been provoked by Pakistan border officers
who solicited bribes from Afghan truckers. The incident reinforces
the continued need for capacity building and transparency in border
and customs operations as well as an effective bilateral transit
trade agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan. END SUMMARY.

2. (SBU) Working with our GIRoA contacts at the Ministry of Finance,
Directorate General for Customs, Afghan Border Police and others,
Embassy officials pieced together the scenario of events which
unfolded at the Weesh Chaman border crossing on Sunday and Monday,
August 30-31, 2009. Weesh Chaman is located on the Pakistan side of
the border along the principle transit corridor between Kandahar,
Afghanistan and Quetta, Pakistan.

3. (SBU) According to Afghan government officials, Pakistani border
officials/customs agents (not entirely clear whether it was one
group or both) demanded bribes from Afghan truckers carrying fruit
across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The majority of the
fruit was destined for India, except for melons destined for Quetta.
In lieu of cash payments, the officials demanded the entire cargo
be off-loaded for inspection. Afghan truckers protested the
off-loading fearing the fruit would spoil and staged a blockade.
The Afghan border officials subsequently retaliated by shutting down
the border to Pakistani trucks.

4. (SBU) The resulting stoppage caused traffic to become backed up
in both directions on Sunday, August 30. Coalition forces supply
trucks were caught in the line of stalled traffic in Pakistan and
were fired upon by insurgents and/or criminal agents. Approximately
twenty cargo trucks and three to four fuel tankers were damaged or
destroyed. Officials also discovered an IED on a tanker at the
Chaman border area and Frontier Corps bomb disposal personnel
defused the device. By 13:30, August 31, the border was reopened
and operating in both directions.

5. (SBU) Embassy Kabul BMTF and Embassy Islamabad had previously
worked together on a solution to provide technical training to the
Pakistanis on how to use the Canadian provided truck scanner in
Chaman. BMTF personnel are planning an immediate visit to Weesh
Chaman with the Afghan Border Police's (ABP) Director of Operations
to gain first hand situational awareness and to coordinate with ISAF
on enforcement operation to x-ray and examine all fuel tankers
entering at Weesh Chaman.

6. (SBU) Comment: The incident added a security component to a
long-standing economic dispute. If GIRoA's bribery allegations are
true, and they have been corroborated in the past, additional
shakedowns of Afghan truckers occuring before the next round of
negotiations of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement
(APTTA) could prove to be a serious irritant. They will also
strengthen the GIRoA's resolve to conclude a transparent and
implementable transit trade agreement that precludes such events in
the future. End comment.

EIKENBERRY

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