The government’s robust measures to combat cross-border smuggling in Balochistan, which siphons off billions from the national exchequer each year, are beginning to show promising outcomes.
The smuggling of goods to and from neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan and Iran have not only adversely affected the economy of Pakistan but have also created a vicious black market in the country. The volume of goods smuggled into Pakistan increased nearly threefold from 2014 to 2018. In these years, smuggling in Pakistan went up from 3.88% to 11.25%. Major goods that are smuggled included sugar, urea, tea, cellphones, fuel and daily-use items like toiletries.
