Islamabad
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Thursday said Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved establishment of Customs Authority to curb smuggling of goods, worth billions of rupees taking place on the borders of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa every year.
Addressing a press conference here, she gave details of a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on finalizing a strategy against the menace of smuggling.
During the two-hour long meeting attended by representatives of relevant ministries, different measures were considered to stop smuggling and discourage illegal trade through a roadmap and practical steps, she said adding customs check posts in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan would be improved. The strategy to stop smuggling would lead to a new phase of progress and prosperity after 72 years.
This National Anti Smuggling Strategy had been formulated and approved for the first time in Pakistan. Smuggling which was damaging the industry, was rampant due to lack of a proper and effective mechanism on borders and different loopholes, she continued.
She said the first target of the government was to stop the theft, pilferage of revenue and financial loss to the national exchequer. The total loss incurred due to smuggling every year was in billions and the figures were alarming for a country burdened with debt and inflation which in turn was creating problems for the common man. Smuggling was one of the causes for shutting down of industries and and loss of jobs. From July 2018 to September 2019, revenue had increased by 56 percent through steps of the federal and provincial governments against smuggling, she told. She revealed that smuggling of diesel worth Rs105 billion was occurring. She said under the Customs Authority, coordination would be increased among different agencies including Customs intelligence, Federal Board of Revenue, Federal Investigation Agency, Intelligence Branch.—APP
