VZCZCXRO6139
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #2659 2441453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 011453Z SEP 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1286
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KABUL 002659 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR D-LEW, SCA/FO, S/SRAP, AND EEB/BTA 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
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