ISLAMABAD: March 16, 2023: Smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan has cost Pakistan around $ 400 million in the last six months as the size of illegal trade of the commodity has jumped-up to around one million tons between November 2022 to to-date. Unfortunately, the monitoring agencies assigned the task to check illegal trade between the two countries are just playing the role of facilitators at entries points to make ill-gotton money.
Sources said the issue of huge smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan centered the agenda of the sugar advisory board meeting held in Islamabad on March 15, 2023 with advisor to the prime minister, Jahanzeb Khan, in the chair.
Sources said the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) delegation highlighted the issue of huge smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan in recent months and demanded strict monitoring at all entry points with Afghanistan where sugar smuggling is going on unabated.
The PSMA team argued during the meeting that huge difference in the sugar price in the local and Afghanistan market was a great attraction for sugar smuggling to Afghanistan. The government side was informed by PSMA delegation that Afghan traders buy sugar from local sources at around Rs 93 a kg and then smuggle it to Afghanistan to export from there to Central Asian Republics (CARs).
Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan is a heaven for illegal trade. Afghan traders who are fully pampered by the local partners can smuggle anything at any time up to any level of volume. There is hardly any restriction for illegal trade of any sort between the two countries provided the monitoring agencies are shared certain percentage of the money involved in illegal trade of anything. Sugar, wheat, fertilizer, ghee, cooking oil, crockery. confectionary , name anything all is smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan thanks to Pakistan’s monitoring agencies.
According to the information collected by NEWSMAN from its reliable sources, the monitoring agencies which include Pakistan Customs, Frontier Constabulary , Local police and Intelligence agencies all get their due share to facilitate smuggling of all valuable commodities and other items from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
The monitoring agencies have fixed rates for smuggling of everything from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Just pay the share of the monitoring agencies and enjoy uninterrupted smuggling of any item from Pakistan to Afghanistan of your choice. Since the volume of illegal trade between the two countries is in billions of US dollars per annum, the appointments at Chaman and other entry points are sold and purchased at unbelievable higher rates of bribe.
“The officials who stay at entry points for jobs for may be one year or even some more time become billionaire and hence these points of smuggling are gold mines for officials of monitoring agencies”, a source confided to NEWSMAN on the condition of anonymity.
Loss of $ 400 million in just sugar smuggling in just a few months is just one example and it can establish the size of loss that Pakistan is bearing due to smuggling to Afghanistan. The issue becomes talking points at the government meetings time and again, but no one dares to take steps to stop it as the mafia involved in this dirty business is more powerful than those who speak against it.
