The government is sustaining loss of millions of rupees due to unauthorised sale of smuggled Iranian petrol in most parts of southern Punjab, including D G Khan, Choti Zaireen, Jampur, etc.
Business Recorder learnt about it during a visit to these areas in connection with a free medical camp at Jampur organised by NGO Gul Fatima run by Mina Jaffar Leghari MNA in collaboration with Pakistan Psychiatric Research Centre and Department of Psychiatry, Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore.
It has been noticed that smuggled Iranian petrol is being sold in these areas without any check from any government agency. These areas form heavy traffic routes for transport business, and there is lot of travelling, hence demand of petroleum. Due to price increase of legally traded petrol, smuggled petrol from Iran has become very popular, a local vendor at Jampur, Ahmed Khan said. He told this scribe that Iranian petrol is being sold at a price Rs 15 per litre lower than the rate presently fixed by the government.
He said that people feel comfortable due to lower rate of petrol and they are least bothered that they are getting smuggled petrol. He said that quite a good number of people are earning their livelihood through sale of Iranian petrol.
About the supply chain of Iranian petrol, Ahmed said that there are some people who supply petrol to them at the local vendors' address. However, their charges are in cash. "Smuggling of petrol into Pakistan is commonly conducted in big drums, containers, oil tankers and pick-ups. Besides, passenger buses are also means of transportation of petroleum products. Iranian oil is also smuggled via sea routes of southern Balochistan in small boats and launches, he claimed. These consignments are usually offloaded and into small tanks and supplied to petroleum dealers and roadside oil vendors, who mix the smuggled oil in locally refined petrol, whereas the vendors and workshop owners sell it in its original condition, he claimed.
According to rough estimates, Pakistan government is losing Rs 6-7 billion per year due to smuggled petrol and allied products. Apart from southern Punjab, sale of Iranian petrol is also common in Balochistan, Sindh and some parts of NWFP.
According to experts, Pakistan has a long history of Iranian smuggled petrol. Balochistan and Sindh are two main markets of smuggled petroleum products. The market has been expanded to southern Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. The main advantage of smuggled products is their low price. One litre Iranian petrol can be found at Rs 15-20 less per litre.
The price of legally sold petroleum products is a major problem not only in Pakistan but also in more or less all countries of the world, even in USA, they argued.
They said that smuggling of POL and its bye-products are a well-known fact and flourishing business all over the country. They opined that the district governments including police should be geared up and made responsible to check the sale of illicit petrol, which is not only causing loss to the government but also polluting the environment.
Comments
Comments are closed.