Arms, ammunition imports: commerce ministry accords permission as 'political bribe'

Authorisation for import of arms and ammunition is reportedly being issued by ministry of commerce as political bribe. This shocking fact, which may be one of the causes of unabated violence in Karachi, was revealed by a one-man commission headed by former Customs officer, Ramzan Bhatti, who was appointed by Supreme Court (SC) in the suo motu case No 16/2011 to investigate the alleged smuggling of arms and ammunition through sea and its spill-over effect in the up surge of violence in Karachi.
It was observed that authorised importers of arms and ammunition, especially from China, were indulging, in group, in under-invoicing. The customs department had ascertained the price of 30 bore pistol at $55 per piece in 1995 and the price of 9mm pistol at $70 per piece in 2009. However, the importers used to declare the prices maximum at $50 per piece and $65 per piece respectively.
This under invoicing up to the extent of 40 percent in arms and ammunition contributes in the outflow of foreign exchange through Hundi besides promoting undocumented economy.
It is said that number of consignments of arms and ammunition, which were imported in 1994 and onward, were still awaiting clearance at KPT's strong rooms.
The arms consignments at KPT's strong rooms, which have reportedly been damaged and mixed up, have been repacked by the KPT authorities without any supervision of the customs department.
The Commission also revealed that no stock-taking had been done so far to ascertain as to whether any quantity of arms and ammunition was missing.
A one-man commission in its report said that authorisation for import of arms and ammunition was reportedly being issued by ministry of commerce as political bribe even to arms dealers in far flung areas, who only earn windfall premiums by selling the total imported quantity to arms dealers in big cities.
The Commission said that authorisation issued by the ministry had been amended on several occasions because of political interventions.
However, Director General Rangers Major General Rizwan Akhter in his written statement submitted to the commission claimed that the calibre of 30 bore and 9mm arms were used in Karachi violence.
But the teams constituted by the customs department on the directives of the Supreme Court are not taking interest to inspect the business premises of arms dealers. The customs department has half-heartedly commenced the exercise to inspect the records of the dealers as they were of the view that this exercise would not yield fruit.