ISLAMABAD: Appraiser Dost is aide-de-camp to smugglers, putting revenue and institutional image at risk so Pakistan can’t bear burden of such transgressor.
These views were expressed by Senior Vice President, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Mohammad Nasir Mirza while talking to Customs Today.
Nasir Mirza has said that Pakistan is facing revenue shortfall, while Dost and his network are playing in the hands of smugglers for his stomach, causing billions of rupees loss to the exchequer, and criminal silence of higher authorities of Customs department and FBR is suspicious. A timely and result-oriented action shall be taken to halt further loss to revenue and break the network of corrupt officials like Dost Muhammad.
Mirza added that Principal Appraiser Dost can be named as kingpin of smugglers. Through misuse of green channel and TP facility, contraband goods and items are pouring into country. Blackmailing at such a sensitive place is real exploitation of importers and business community.
Furthermore, Nasir Mirza said that no physical monitoring existed at the ports which helps appraisers and customs clearance staff to blackmail importers and agents. He also demanded of FBR and customs department to establish physical and systematic monitoring system to avoid the exploitation of importers and misuse of green channel and TP facility.
He said higher authorities of customs department and FBR should not become facilitator of such criminals, otherwise his sophisticated network of corruption will get stronger as we can’t deny that this corrupt gang has strong ties with smugglers due to which legal trade reduced alarmingly.
Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry SVP also expressed worries that officials like Principal Appraiser Dost has strong lobby but ‘every evil has an end’, and Customs department also has professional and honest officers to breakdown his lobby and avoid further loss to revenue.
RCCI, Senior Vice President clarified that “speed money” not only causes loss to national kitty but also badly effects end-users, causing rise in commodity prices, market disparity and risk to society so ‘this curse shall be totally abolished’.
