MULTAN: Member of the National Assembly Syeda Nafisa Shah has criticized the government for failing to stop the smuggling of Iranian oil which is causing billions of rupees losses to the national exchequer.
The MPA and activist of the Pakistan People’s Party, Syeda Nafisa Shah, has raised serious questions during a meeting of the NA Special Committee on anti-smuggling.
Syeda Nafisa Shah said that smuggling of Iranian high speed diesel and other items have been continuing for the last many years, but the government has failed to take effective measures. She said that the border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan should be sealed.
She told National Assembly committee that there is a need to strengthen the existing customs points on Balochistan coastline to curb smuggling in the country from neighboring countries. The model of Customs Collectorate Multan has also been asked to report immediately along with other collectorates in the country on the scale of smuggling Iranian oil to Pakistan at present along with the economic loss to the national economy.
The steps taken by the government to control smuggling in the recent times because rough figures stated that Pakistan consumed billions of rupees in smuggling which badly affect our national economy financially.
Government representatives briefed executive standing committee that people in Baluchistan are using more than 70% of the smuggled petrol and also Sindh costal belt especially bordering Baluchistan upto 50 % of the locals’ needs of petrol and diesel are being met through Iranian smuggled POL products, while Iranian smuggled petroleum products are also available in tribal areas.
Sources told Customs Today that the National Assembly wanted to probe the on-going smuggling of Iranian POL products through customs check posts and reasons behind smuggling of such products even in the presence of customs check post. A notification C.No.13(19) E&C/2015/100645 have been issued to all major collectorates of Pakistan including MCC Multan, MCC Faisalabad, MCC Lahore ,MCC Karachi for compiling figures of seizures of Iranian POL smuggling through border.
The special committee has been assigned to inquire about the smuggling of Iranian POL products in Baluchistan. The model of Custom Collectorate Multan have been asked to file detail report about smuggling including the seizure cases of petroleum, number of vehicles smuggled seized along with other items seized in the attempt of smuggling.
The model of Customs Collectorate Multan is now preparing report for the submission of reply to National Assembly according to actual facts and figures of smuggling. The figures and reports from all Collectorates will give committee an actual figure for the elimination of smuggling in the country.
The committee also inquired about the reasons behind smuggling of Iranian POL products in the presence of the customs check posts in the strategic points of the country. The FBR will assist the national executive committee in post-mortem of the actual beneficiaries of smuggling where even customs check posts in the country were unable to entirely control the menace of smuggling. National Assembly committee will analyze the figures of smuggling after gathering it from the entire country which causes detrimental loss to the national economy of Pakistan.
The model of Customs Collectorate Multan will send detail report on the smuggling of Iranian petrol and other articles including vehicles and the detrimental loss of smuggling to national economy very soon.
