In an effort to further tighten the noose around smugglers, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday directed customs authorities and law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts against the illegal transportation of various goods, including sugar, petroleum products, urea and agricultural items.
He gave the instructions while chairing a high-level meeting on the overall situation of smuggling in the country, with particular attention given to border areas.
Senior officials briefed the prime minister on the extent of smuggling activities, outlining the steps taken to curb this illicit trade.
To strengthen border control measures, it was revealed that 10 additional check posts manned by LEAs were established in Balochistan.
PM Kakar instructed the relevant authorities to prepare an inter-agency report identifying the individuals involved in smuggling within the province.
Read PM Kakar’s stern message: pay the bills unfailingly
He directed strong departmental action against those officers who were involved in smuggling in Balochistan, saying that they should be awarded exemplary punishment.
He said the smuggling of petroleum products was reducing revenue and putting pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
He said he would chair a weekly meeting to review the performance of institutions and to curb the menace of smuggling.
The interim premier ordered that the border markets with Iran should be made more viable so that trade could be done with proper documents.
He stressed that smuggling was causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national economy and it was critical to end the problem of smuggling.
The PM was told that smuggling was reduced by 40 per cent due to the untiring efforts of LEAs. He was apprised of the strategy of the law enforcement departments against smuggling.
Also read PM directs strict action against wheat, sugar and urea smugglers
Caretaker Federal Minister for Trade Gohar Ejaz, Minister for Interior Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, Minister for Petroleum Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the PM Ahmed Cheema, federal secretaries, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman and high-level officers attended the meeting.
Provincial chief secretaries of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and police high-ups attended the meeting through video link.
Govt to strengthen ties with Britain
Earlier, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom Jane Marriott called on PM Kakar and discussed matters of mutual interest.
The interim premier emphasised that Pakistan and the UK had longstanding relations, saying that his government would continue to further strengthen bilateral ties.
He conveyed his good wishes to His Majesty King Charles III and the UK leadership.
The prime minister stressed the need to enhance cooperation between both the countries in trade, investment, climate change and education.
The high commissioner conveyed felicitations to the premier on behalf of the UK leadership, saying that the UK would continue to extend all possible support to Pakistan during the phase of democratic transition.
Preparations for UNGA session
In a separate meeting held with Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram, the prime minister was informed about the preparations for the upcoming 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78).
The prime minister appreciated Akram for being an effective representative of Pakistan on the UN platform.
(With input from APP)
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ