ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed that the national exchequer was facing losses to the tune of Rs 5 to 6 billion per month due to illegal trade at the Torkham border.
This was revealed in a report submitted by Additional Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Omer Farouk Adam, a member of the four-man commission appointed by the Supreme Court on Aug 21 to check illegal border crossing into Pakistan from Torkham.
Farouk said in the report that goods worth millions of dollars were seized on Torkham border every month, but no record was available or maintained by any department.
The illegal trade to the tune of Rs 100 to 150 million per day was being made through Torkham border, the report stated, adding that the Asian Development Bank’s Integrated Border Immigration System was still in the pipeline since 2002 and only one or two meetings had taken place so far.
The report explained that the customs officials at Torkham border only perform cargo clearance activity on a daily basis where approximately 800 to 1,000 cargo carrying vehicles cross the border in either direction. But there is no dedicated yard for parking of vehicles, no vehicle scanning machine, no cargo handling equipment, there is an acute shortage of staff, luggage scanners, storage facility and no arrangement for security of personnel and cargo.
Customs officials do not check private cars and public transport, the report said adding that officially no duty/taxes were imposed on passenger baggage nor any goods/baggage confiscated.
At present the Frontier Corps and political administration checked private vehicles and passenger baggage at Torkham border. The goods seized are put in 13 stores / warehouses and disposed of as per provisions of the Customs Act. There was no anti-narcotics department at the border, the report said.
SC ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Tariq Bajwa and the attorney general to submit details about steps taken for eliminating smuggling at the border.
It is important to mention here that a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja had formed the Torkham Border Commission in KP consisting of AAG Mohammad Waqar Rana, KP AAG Omer Farouk Adam, FIA Director Jaffar Shah and Chief (International Customs) FBR Dr Mohammad Zubair Yousfani.
