Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said on Saturday that strict measures should be carried out to ensure abandonment of smuggling.
According to the sources, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, a high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan on measures for anti-trafficking and drug narcotics.
Federal Minister for Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Trade Adviser Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Special Assistant Shahzad Akbar, Special Assistant for Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, Secretaries of Commerce, Petroleum, Maritime Affairs and Home Affairs Division, Chairman FBR and senior Civil and military officials also attended the meeting.
In addition to this the Provincial Chief Secretaries and IGs of Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also attended the meeting through video link.
The meeting was informed that the sale of smuggled oil was causing an annual loss of Rs 100-150 billion to the economy. Currently, 2,094 petrol pumps in the country are involved in the sale of smuggled oil.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the country’s economy has been facing irreversible damage due to smuggling. Anti-trafficking measures will increase revenues which would then be spent on the welfare of the poor.
The Prime Minister ordered that strict instructions to be taken against the elements involved in smuggling.