Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Officials Impeding Our Business, Allege Apiarists

Officials Impeding Our Business,  Allege Apiarists

JALALABAD - The Torkham commissary and highway police are hindering the movement of bees, allege apiarists in eastern Nangarhar province.
The Association of Beekeepers says a wide variety of flowers blossom these days in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
If not allowed to move their bees to Pakistan within a month, they would not be able to produce honey this season, the association warns.
Riaz Ahmad Rudwal, head of the association, told Pajhwok Afghan News the time was ripe for honey production in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and they had to move there.
He complained the highway police and the Torkham commissary were not allowing them to take their bees across the Durand Line.
He warned even a daylong wait in Torkham could lead to the killing of bees, as they were unable to cope with heat and a lack of food.
“About 350 trucks of bees should go to Pakistan this month. But police stop the trucks at Torkham,” the beekeepers’ representative grumbled.
“Our demand is that we should be allowed to cross into Pakistan without being forced to wait for our turn, because bees are not a vegetable that could be preserved.”
Rudwal added another problem was that Afghans were barred from traveling to Pakistan because of the coronavirus pandemic.
If professional experts were not allowed to travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, their bees ran the risk of dying, the association head explained.
Shakirullah Safi, head of the export promotion office at the Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agreed a delay in shifting would lead to the death of bees besides paving the way for corruption.
Attaullah Khogyani, the governor’s spokesman, said the Torkham commissary and security agencies had been instructed to cooperate with beekeepers.
Pajhwok tried to contact the Torkham commissary for comments, but failed.
At least 500 tonnes of honey is produced in Nangarhar annually. There are up to 600 apiaries in the province, providing work opportunities for many individuals. (Pajhwok)