ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs has no record of more than 10,000 International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) containers that have gone missing in Karachi, member (Customs) Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Munir Qureshi told a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday.
The containers have not reached Afghanistan in the last 1-2 years, Qureshi said. This resulted in huge losses of revenue to the national exchequer.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry then directed member (Customs) to file a report on all the challans filed by customs regarding violation of their rules and regulation.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising the CJP, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing a bail application of a driver of a container loaded with liquor bottles as well as cases of the missing containers.
Raja Muhammad Irshad, counsel for Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), appeared before the court and submitted a detailed report over which contraband items are permitted as part of the food supplies to Isaf in Afghanistan according to the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATT).
During the hearing, the chief justice said that smuggled goods are openly sold in markets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and nobody is taking notice of the issue. The CJP asked Qureshi about why checkpoints are not being monitored to control smuggling. “There is a sitting government. Why don’t you ask the government to take notice of it?” the CJP asked Qureshi.
“It seems you people have made the country a free port,” the chief justice said adding that the customs’ authorities should perform their duty honestly. Just go to the markets in Blue Area, you will find a large supply of smuggled goods there, the CJP said.
“It’s a matter of law and order,” Qureshi said in response, adding that the provincial police are not cooperating with the customs’ authorities in curbing smuggling. It’s a political issue. Don’t make any excuse,” Justice Tariq Pervez said.
Federal Board of Revenue chairman Sohail Ahmed also appeared before the court. Meanwhile the court adjourned the hearing until September 29th.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2010.
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