Industrialists warn of persistent smuggling in Pakistan

The industrialists, who have been affected by illicit trade and smuggling for decades, observed that although the government's measures have shown promising results for certain industries, the scale of smuggling in Pakistan remains alarmingly high. They emphasised that the country is still grappling with only the tip of the iceberg. To truly combat this issue, effective enforcement must be paired with comprehensive policy reforms, aimed at addressing smuggling at its roots. Without such reforms, efforts to curb smuggling will continue to be inadequate. They said that recently Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed that, following stringent measures against smuggled fuel and a reduction in petroleum prices, the sale of petroleum products had surged to a record 1.58 million metric tonnes in the past 25 months. This represents a 15% year-on-year increase, signalling a revival in the energy market. This proactive approach to curb fuel smuggling and focus on expanding digital tools for revenue monitoring were highlighted as key elements in this success.