PTI govt to allocate funds for better border management

Approves 2018 news posts in customs department under Border Management Initiative

The federal government has decided to allocate funds in the next budget to purchase double cabin vehicles, motorcycles, coasters and other equipment and weapons to better secure the borders  in order to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

According to sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), this has been decided in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan which also approved creating 2018 posts in the customs department under its Customs Border Management Initiative (BMI).

Now a summary is being prepared for recruitment of employees and officers on these posts and to make the customs department's monitoring and mobilization effective in the border areas.

A committee, headed by the FBR officials, is working in this regard. Other members of the committee include representatives from the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The committee will prepare its recommendations which will be finalized next month and will be included in the budget for 2020-2021after the approval of the federal cabinet.

An additional workforce will be provided to the customs department for patrolling in the border areas. In addition to modern equipment and weapons, motorbikes and vehicles will also be provided.

Bullet proof jackets, sophisticated equipment and weapons and sniffer dogs will also be purchased to make checking and monitoring in the border areas more stringent.

Other members of the FBR committee including officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, Information Technology and Finance, and other relevant ministries.

This committee will finalize recommendations for the next budget under Border Management Initiatives and a technical sub-committee will also be set up.

This committee will also consist of representatives from the FBR, the Ministry of Interior, the Military Operations Directorate, and the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).

This subcommittee will determine priorities for the customs department and will finalize after determine all technical equipment and information technology requirements required.

This subcommittee will study the border areas of other countries in the region and will review the weapons and other equipment available to the customs officials of the respective countries.