ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah says smuggling is a serious problem faced by the country.
“We have to make sure that we get rid of this problem, it has damaged our economy over the years and we cannot let it go further like this,” he said while chairing a meeting of Anti-smuggling Steering Committee along with Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi.
All the four sub-committees submitted comprehensive action plans on assigned TORs.
During the meeting, the interior minister expressed surprise that for seventy years, the subject of smuggling remained neglected despite massive loss to the economy of the country.
Ali Zaidi said that smuggling through the sea is causing a loss of billions of dollars in exports of fisheries and is a major issue.
The interior secretary gave a detailed briefing on coordination mechanism among the customs, civil armed forces, law enforcement agencies in the area of anti-smuggling operations and developing synergy at policy and operational level.
The commerce secretary highlighted the tariff anomalies and steps required to regulate Afghan Transit trade.
The interior secretary presented a detailed proposal on the digitization of trade and smuggling data.
Shah stressed on collaboration between the provincial and federal government agencies mounting of vessel monitory system on boats/ships and enhancement of export of fisheries to the tune of US $ 1 billion.
In order to ensure efficient control, the committee unanimously agreed upon increased collaboration between the customs and border force. The installation of advanced systems in the bordering areas was also emphasized upon.
The meeting concluded with a promise to come up with a workable plan to implement the decisions.
