Hellman enters Khyber Pass

HELLMANN Worldwide Logistics’ Pakistan division has expanded its products to provide the handling of transit cargo to Afghanistan. The services run via Torkham Gate on the Khyber Pass in the north, mainly to Kabul and the Chaman border crossing point to Kandahar, which is a well-known trading city at the southern end of the border.

It is a shipment-to-shipment service, which allows any cargo destined for Afghanistan to be shipped across when required. This can be on a daily basis if necessary with the majority of cargo passing through the Khyber Pass at the Torkham border crossing point.

This route has big strategic and commercial importance for Hellmann Pakistan, not only to transport essential supplies to the US and NATO military, but also for the movement of goods to the landlocked country of Afghanistan, which is a necessity for commercial trade.

Pakistan general manager of sea freight and projects, Amjad Chaudhry said: “The Khyber Pass is the main route for supplies, especially to Kabul, from where 75 per cent of the goods pass. Routes from Iran, or from the north, are not as conducive as they involve transit through lengthy stretches of rough terrain. That leads to very long transit times and is simply not a cost-effective method.

“In addition, there are close cultural and ethnic ties between neighbouring tribes on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border and these ties have existed for centuries.”