‘Send aid, or expect Afghanistan to become arms, drug trade hub’

Customs senior officer says trade sanctions spiked smuggling on Iranian border

KARACHI:

Afghanistan can become an international hub for narcotics and weapons if the international community does not respond to the humanitarian crisis in the warn-torn country, said Pakistan Customs Enforcement Chief Collector Abdul Qadir Memon on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion of World Customs Day, he said that the current situation in warrants immediate response by neighbours, regional and international humanitarian agencies to help the Afghan people.

Otherwise, he said, the Afghan lands could revert to becoming source of narcotics and illegal arms in the world, he said.

Memon based his argument on the fact that smuggling from Iran was increasing due to ban on legal trade owing to international sanctions.

However, he assured that Pakistan Customs was ready to face these challenges. He said that the budget of Pakistan Customs is only 0.2 per cent of the total revenue whereas the global figure is 2.5 per cent.

Customs restored 24/7 supply of medicines and groceries during the pandemic which averted food crisis in the country.

According to the World Bank, trade facilitation reduces import costs by 20 per cent. Pakistan is facilitating the trade sector by securing customs revenue.

He said the customs department was handling 95 per cent of global trade through a web-based system. Customs has 56 per cent import and 80 per cent export clearance without examination. Pakistan is connecting 50 systems through a single window to increase its share in global trade. Scanners and state-of-the-art equipment are being installed to improve clearance time.

He said that last year the anti-smuggling campaign generated revenue of Rs5.8 billion. The NTC has been set up to curb money laundering and smuggling. He said that Customs Excellence Training Centre has been set up in Islamabad for Human Resource Development.

Memon said that Pakistan Customs has released 8,000 containers which were stopped due to legal issues.

Earlier in his address, Collector Enforcement Feroz Alam Junejo said that the purpose of World Customs Day is to appreciate the services of customs officers and staff.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2022.