KARACHI: Principal appraisers, appraisers and other staff members deputed at all three ports of Karachi including Port Qasim, KICT and PICT lodged protest and stopped working on Friday evening due to harassment of customs high-ups at Appraisement South.
The sources said that the officers, including principal appraisers and appraisers, staged a demonstration following a senior officer was insulted by searching his body on the orders of Additional Collector Yasin Murtaza who had barred the importers and agents from keeping mobile phones with them.
The sources said that following the thorough body search of the appraising officer, the officers halted every kind of assessment. The sources said that the appraising officers were also not allowed any kind of documents from the agents and importers for the assessment of the imported goods and articles at the Port Bin Qasim.
Few principal appraisers and other staff members alleged that Appraisement South high-ups including Additional Collector Yasin Murtaza started harassing them from last few days to fulfill their vested interests. He, using the name of Appraisement South most senior officials, imposed different rules and regulations without any kind of written approval. He also imposed ban on using blinds on windows in all offices of customs house.
Principal appraisers and appraisers also accused that the additional collector wanted to bring his own persons at Port Qasim that is why he could do anything to suspend or transfer few customs officers from here.
Now customs appraisers and assessment staff is on complete strike against this attitude of customs high ups. Businesses will suffer losses of billions of rupees if this issue is not resolved on priority basis. Due to prolonged strike, clearance of consignments at Ports will be delayed and importers will not be able to supply their goods in the market. Ultimately they will lose their orders and suffer huge losses.
