KARACHI: Businesspeople have expressed their concern about an attempt to kidnap Karachi Collector of Customs Enforcement Usman Bajwa.
In a statement, they said Usman Bajwa had been highly active against smugglers and successfully foiled a large number of attempts to smuggle banned items into the country. “It is a matter of serious concern that the high-ranking customs official was kidnapped but later released by armed men only after snatching his mobile phones and vehicle. It will send a wrong message to all other dutiful officers,” they added.
They said it was an attempt to intimidate all customs officers who are actively working to stop smuggling and protect national interests. “The state should probe the matter and hunt down all accused involved in his kidnapping, so that a similar incident does not happen again,” they maintained.
Recently, the Pakistan Customs Enforcement, working under Chief Collector Customs Yaqoob Mako and Collector Usman Bajwa, recovered smuggled goods worth Rs 163 million in a raid on Karachi’s Bolton Market. The anti-smuggling unit raided many warehouses in Chanti Lane, Mariott Road and Market Quarters. During the raid, the team seized smuggled items worth more than Rs 160 m, which also included cigarettes, shisha flavours and gutka.
On the instructions of Collector Usman Bajwa, an anti-trafficking team of the Customs Enforcement Collectorate, also raided the Bombay Sweet Supari factory in Hussainabad and seized 39,000 kilogrammes of smuggled betel nuts and 270 cartons of sweet supari.
Karachi Collector of Customs Enforcement Usman Bajwa is held in high esteem for his hard work, honesty and dignity not only by his juniors but also senior officers, who also condemned the kidnapping bid on him.
On April 11, armed men abducted Usman Bajwa along with his official vehicle in DHA, Karachi. They also misbehaved with him and took away his vehicle, mobile phones and other documents, when he was travelling with his family.
