Anti-smuggling drive yields dividends

Robust measures implemented in Balochistan have translated into significant relief for Pakistanis

KARACHI:

The government's robust measures to combat cross-border smuggling in Balochistan, which siphons off billions from the national exchequer each year, are beginning to show promising outcomes.

The smuggling of goods to and from neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan and Iran have not only adversely affected the economy of Pakistan but have also created a vicious black market in the country. The volume of goods smuggled into Pakistan increased nearly threefold from 2014 to 2018. In these years, smuggling in Pakistan went up from 3.88% to 11.25%. Major goods that are smuggled included sugar, urea, tea, cellphones, fuel and daily-use items like toiletries.

The size of the informal economy in Pakistan is more than 50% of the GDP. It is no surprise that due to the presence of an informal economy, Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio is merely 10% which is one of the lowest in the world. Smuggling is resulting in discord among those who are paying taxes.

Another alarming issue is the trafficking of drugs like ice crystals, mainly trafficked from Afghanistan, targeting the youth of Pakistan. This smuggling of ice has made the youth of our country, especially the students of universities and colleges, addicted to drugs.

To address these challenges, a strategy was formulated in October 2022 by Balochistan Corps to tackle the issues of trafficking and drug addiction. The salient points of this strategy were the establishment of 10 joint check posts in Balochistan in April 2023, regular checking by all stakeholders including Customs, Anti-Narcotics, NLC and FIA. Additionally, border closures and border markets through strict checking and fencing by Customs and Coast Guard have been proactive measures. To curb smuggling, law enforcement agencies have successfully thwarted several smuggling attempts in recent times and seized contraband and handed it over to the concerned authorities.

In addition, on the suggestion of Balochistan Corps, an anti-smuggling control room has been established in Quetta to monitor and coordinate the anti-smuggling operations. The control centre is led by Chief collector Customs, Balochistan, whereas it’s other members are Additional Secretory, Home department, DIG of Police, Quetta and Representatives from FC Balochistan and Intelligence Bureau. The similar kind of control room has been established in Makran Division, headed by Commissioner to amplify the anti-smuggling crackdown in south Balochistan.

There is no denying the fact that the recent crackdown on smugglers in Balochistan has resulted in massive seizures of smuggled goods. Some of the seized items included 1,637 tons of sugar worth about Rs1 billion in a convoy of 15 trucks. As a result of these raids, a clear change has been seen in the form of reduction in the price of sugar from Rs250 to Rs160 per kg.

Earlier, millions of dollars were smuggled in Afghanistan every day. According to Bloomberg report that traders and smugglers were moving $5 million a day. With effective anti-smuggling measures, the value of the dollar has declined from 315 rupees to 276 rupees, which shows that the economy is stabilising due to these efforts. Petrol price has dropped from Rs 330 to Rs 283. Similarly, the price of flour dropped from Rs10,000 to Rs7,500. Apart from this, the security forces seized a huge quantity of urea which was being smuggled to Afghanistan. After which the market price of urea fell to Rs500 from Rs600 per sack.

Similarly, to address the challenge of drug smuggling and addiction, meeting of all stakeholders was held in Balochistan Corps on 28th August 2023. Which was followed by a grand tribal jirga in Gulistan area of Qilla Abdullah on 30th August. The purpose of holding grand tribal Jirga was to educate the locals about the malicious consequences of the drugs in society. During the jirga, notables of the vulnerable area voluntarily participated and assisted law enforcement agencies in a grand operation against the drugs. Subsequently, a grand operation was launched by law enforcement agencies in Gulistan area of Killa Abdullah on 8 September 2023. After the successful operations and raids, 3,400kg of narcotics have been recovered, 3000 kg of chemical/crude ephedrine has been destroyed, 16 narcotics manufacturing processing machines have been destroyed, 48 drug compounds have been demolished, 70 acres of drug cultivation has also been eradicated.

Finally, Balochistan is committed to combating cross-border smuggling and its resulting socio-economic consequences. It is important that these efforts continue, as they not only protect the country's economy, but also yield fruitful results, which are essential for the well-being of its citizens.