Almost $70m dollars being smuggled to Afghanistan monthly: report

ISLAMABAD: Almost $60 to $70 million dollars was being smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan on a monthly basis, ARY News reported on Wednesday, quoting a report prepared by the federal government.  

According to details, the federal government has prepared a report on dollar smuggling, revealing that almost $60 to $70 million dollars was being smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan monthly.

Sources told ARY News that Pakistan has decided to raise the issue of dollar smuggling with the Afghan government. “The foreign currency was being used to open letters of credit (LCs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey,” they added.

Sources further claimed that small cars, tyres, mobile phones, oil and other valuables were being also smuggled to the neighbouring country. “The smuggled items are reexported to Pakistan,” they added.

Islamabad suffers revenue loss from smuggling on transit trade routes, they added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in December 2022, set new restrictions for passengers due to the dollar shortage in the country.

According to the notification of the FBR, due to the lack of dollars in the country more than $30,000 a year has been banned from being taken abroad. Those going to Afghanistan will not be allowed even $30,000 annually.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) further said people aged 18 years and above could carry up to $5,000 per foreign visit while those aged 18 years or younger could carry up to $2,000 for foreign visits.

FBR also said in its notification that people going to Afghanistan could carry 1,000 US dollars on a visit and those going to Afghanistan will not be able to carry more than $6,000 annually.