13 officers face action for cloth smuggling under ATTA

LAHORE: On the orders of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, action has been initiated against 13 officers and personnel of Punjab Police, Customs Intelligence and Rangers for facilitating the smuggling of cloth worth billions of rupees under the guise of Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA).

The officers and personnel who face action include Muhammad Ramzan, Inspector Customs Enforcement Cell, Sarai Mahajir Tehsil, District Bhakkar, Inspector Syed Imran Haider, SHO Police Station Attock Khurd, Atif Shahzad, ASI Incharge, Punjab Police, Attock Khurd Check Post, Rana Syed Rasool, Havaldar Customs Enforcement Cell, Sarai Mahajir, District Bhakkar, Rai Muhammad Shahbaz Kharal, Havaldar Customs Intelligence Cell, Sarai Mahajir, Jamshed Iqbal, Head Constable, Punjab Police, Check Post Attock Khurd, Ahmed Nawaz, Head Constable ND Incharge, Attock 2 Check Post, Punjab Police, Zeeshan Ali, Head Constable, Punjab Police, Attock Khurd Check Post, Atlas Khan, Constable, Attock Khurd Check Post, Rasheed Ahmad, Constable/Deputy Muharrar Police Station, Attock Khurd, Muhammad Irfan, Sepoy Customs Intelligence, District Faisalabad, Muhammad Waqas, Sepoy Customs Intelligence, District Faisalabad, and Jahanzeb, DSR Rangers, Shaheed Abdul Jabbar Abbasi Rangers Check Post, Jamali Bypass, Jacobabad.

According to the report, under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, $2.5 billion worth of high-quality cloth is imported from Afghanistan, the payments of which are made from Pakistan through hundi. This puts severe pressure on Pakistan’s already dwindling foreign reserves. According to the report, corrupt elements are involved in large-scale smuggling of cloth under the guise of Afghan transit trade with the connivance of officers and officials of law enforcement agencies.

According to the report, containers of high-quality textiles imported under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement, which are manually sealed, are either broken and emptied during the journey from Afghanistan or at 75 warehouses located near the Pak-Afghan border. They are emptied and smuggled back to Pakistan. Some 99 smugglers are involved in the smuggling.

According to the report, the smuggled cloth is brought to Quetta through Balochistan’s border districts of Nushki and Chagai, which is later smuggled across Punjab through Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan-Lahore Motorways.