TORKHAM: Indian goods are smuggled to Afghanistan via Pakistan Afghanistan Trade and Transit route in close containers of wheat through Torkham Customs Station.
Sources informed Customs Today that recently Customs Collectorate has lodged FIR against several persons including an Afghan national for involvement in unauthorized export of non-duty paid goods to Afghanistan.
Collector Saeed Jadoon directed the Customs officers to curb smuggling and trace down exporters of NDP goods via Torkham Customs Station on which anti-smuggling drive has been initiated by Customs Anti-Smuggling Division.
According to detail, the Additional Collector-II tipped information to the Assistant Collector Sajid Mohmand of Torkham Customs that attempts for export of huge quantity of NDP goods will be made by some unscrupulous elements, through Customs Station Torkham.
Assistant Collector Sajid Momand in order to curb the restricted export of the said goods, constituted a team to tackle down the attempt of smuggling in order to restrict the trade of non-paid goods.
The Customs team therefore also sought help of the local political authorities having administrative control of Torkham, Khyber Agency in order to move all vehicles to the National Logistic Cell (NLC) imports terminal.
Since, there was no sufficient space for unloading of the goods, some vehicles were driven to the State Warehouse, Customs Collectorate, Customs House Peshawar for unloading and proper checking/counting of the loaded goods/bags in the designated State Warehouse.
It was found that exporters in the garb of wheat flour intended to export the DAP fertilizer (Suraj brand of Indian origin) as the side and upper line of the DAP fertilizer bags were covered with bags bearing marks and numbers of wheat flour while interior bags were in original form.
The owner of the goods and vehicles along with drivers and others are found in league with each other in unauthorized export of fertilizer.
It is interesting to note that the goods which were being exported to Afghanistan are of Indian origin. It raises questions that where did the Indian DAP came to Pakistan and for what purposes the commodity which contains explosive substances was being sent to Afghanistan.
