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CNN Live Sunday

Afghan/Pakistani Border Remains Porous

Aired November 18, 2001 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Officially, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is closed and no one, not even Osama bin Laden, should be able to go in or out. But as CNN's Jim Clancy reports, some crossings remain so porous that not even camel smugglers bother hiding their business.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan is trying to hobble cross-border traffic between Afghanistan and its own province of Baluchistan, but can't seem to rain in some age-old traditions, because for some, orders are only lines on maps they've never seen.

"We do it" says this camel smuggling Afghan. "We go across the border because that's our business." And not a bad business at that. Abdul Haake (ph) says he's taking 30 of the hairy beasts from the Pakistani town of Quetta across the border to Spin Boldak (ph), and then deeper into Afghanistan to the town of Shorawak (ph) some 220 kilometers away.

The camels are not in a hurry. The journey could take 18 days or more. On the other side, these sure-footed hearty beasts will fetch as much as $500 each. As he walked and talked, Abdul Haake (ph) told us he plans to sell some of this lot and perhaps keep some of these camels for himself.

For him, the issue isn't whether it's legal, it's the legacy. Camel smuggling is his life. It was going on centuries before this war in Afghanistan. It will be going on long after the fighting ends.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Quetta, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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