Traders urge FBR chief to tackle smuggling

Say curbs on trade with Afghanistan hurting Pakistan’s economy

PESHAWAR:

A delegation of businessmen, during consultation with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana at the Customs House Peshawar, urged him to take effective measures to curb smuggling instead of imposing restrictions on trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The delegation was jointly led by Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Coordinator Ziaul Haq Sarhadi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, said a statement on Saturday.

They told the FBR chief that in trade with Afghanistan, Pakistan could also get access to the markets of Central Asian Republics but the imposition of a ban on the important route would prove detrimental to the economy in the long run.

Sarhadi pointed out that the bone of contention in Pak-Afghan trade was smuggling, which could be stopped effectively through stringent monitoring and vigilance at border points.

“Slapping ban on trade to curb smuggling is not a suitable approach as it undermines efforts for expansion of commerce at the regional level including the capture of Central Asian markets,” he said.

Sarhadi, who is also the president of the Frontier Customs Clearing Agents Association, recalled a similar decision made around 18 years ago for restricting trade in 17 items with Afghanistan.

Read Gulf smuggling ring busted: 18 detained

“The decision caused a freight loss of around Rs3 billion per year to Pakistan Railways while all banned goods found their way to Afghanistan via flights from the UAE and then penetrated Pakistani markets through smuggling.”

A similar move, he continued, was taken in October 2023, when the Ministry of Commerce imposed a ban on 14 items, which affected the flow of 212 goods of daily use.

In the same manner, a 10% processing fee was imposed on transit cargo besides the requirement of submitting 100% bank guarantee.

Earlier, the transit cargo moved under an insurance guarantee and in the past 13 years around one million containers crossed Afghanistan from Pakistan smoothly, Sarhadi added.

Hundreds of trucks bring different goods including petroleum products, edible items, cigarettes, auto parts, etc from Iran every day. Even then, “no proper measures are being taken to curb this smuggling, which is inflicting huge damage to the national economy.”

Sarhadi decried that frequent suspension of Pak-Afghan trade was creating a lot of problems for the business community, exporters, importers and transporters, adding that the delay in clearance of goods-laden trucks had become a routine, burdening the business community with extra payment of demurrages and detention charges.

He stressed the need for timely completion of a border terminal being built by the National Logistics Company (NLC). After completion of the terminal, people of the area should be given jobs on priority as promised to them, he stressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2024.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.