Perilous Afghan trade routes getting safer, slowly

By Andrew Marshall

Tuesday February 12, 10:11 PM

KANDAHAR (Reuters) - The punishing, rugged roads linking Afghanistan's major cities are slowly getting safer, but robberies are reported almost daily and drivers are afraid, Kandahar transport officials said on Tuesday.

The lawlessness has battered business confidence in Kandahar, a city that straddles the main routes to Kabul, Pakistan and Iran and that has always thrived on trade.

Before the Taliban imposed their harsh rule, hijacking, robbery and murder were rife on the roads, and local warlords demanded a toll from every passing vehicle.

The new Kabul government is struggling to impose its authority beyond Afghanistan's cities after Washington's declared war on terror helped topple the Taliban, but bandits have again become a problem.

For Kandahar's traders, the main concern is still the road northwest to Herat, gateway to Iran and central Asia. Tension between the two cities, which has simmered for centuries, is stifling business, officials say.

In December, dozens of ethnic Pashtun drivers from Kandahar were imprisoned in Herat, a city dominated by Tajiks. A delegation of Kandahar officials travelled to Herat last month to defuse the crisis, but drivers say the road is not yet safe.

"Two days ago one of our drivers was injured in a robbery on the road to Herat," said Abdul Khaliq, the official in charge of taxis and vans plying the Kandahar to Herat route.

"It's not as bad as last month but the drivers are angry. They say people near Herat are lying in wait for them."

Khaliq said around 25 taxis and vans, loaded with goods as well as passengers, make the journey every day. Frustrated officials said many more vehicles should be making the journey.

U.N. SAYS TRAVEL SAFER

The United Nations in Kandahar said road security was getting better, and an agreement between Kandahar and Herat officials to set up joint patrols was another step forward.

"The agreement… to protect travellers between the two cities is expected to further improve the security for road missions," it said in its latest situation report.

At the transport post for vehicles to Kabul, taxi official Janan Mohammed said the 13-hour journey was fraught with problems and nobody dared to drive after dark.

"Every couple of days cars are robbed. Often the vehicle is stolen too," he said.

Taxi driver Ahmed Shah says armed men fired at his car two days ago halfway between Kabul and Kandahar. He didn't stop.

"Parts of the road are very lawless," he said. "The local people just steal what they want."

Painted on the side of his taxi is the slogan "HUNGER FOR OVE". The missing L has been scratched away by the wear and tear of Afghanistan's roads.

Reports have emerged of robberies on the road to Spin Boldak on the Pakistan border.

On Saturday, the private Afghan Islamic Press quoted an unidentified trader as saying highway robbers had held up several travellers on the Spin Boldak-Kandahar road on Friday.

But in Kandahar, officials at the transport stand for Spin Boldak say the journey is safe.

"That road is regularly patrolled," said Abdul Zahir. "I haven't heard of any problems."