The Federal government has taken serious note of increase in smuggling of petrol and diesel to Afghanistan, and asked the Interior Ministry to take appropriate measures to control it to decrease the burden on national exchequer in the shape of increase in import bill on petroleum products.
The Ministry of Interior was asked to mobilise all law-enforcement agencies to make sure complete end to smuggling, which had become a dangerous phenomenon, well placed source in the Interior Ministry told Business Recorder on Monday.
The ministry asked all the concerned agencies, including, police, Frontier Corps, Customs and levies, to remain vigilant to bring the smuggling to an end, they said. The ministry issued a directive to Chief Secretaries, Inspectors General of Police, and Inspectors General of Frontier Corps, NWFP and Balochistan to take effective measures and stern action to curb this menace, sources said.
They said that in the present scenario when the country was facing acute energy crisis, smuggling of diesel and petrol to Afghanistan would never be allowed. "It is clearly a burden on national exchequer as the government is purchasing fuel on high prices and providing it on subsidied rates to the consumers, while the smugglers were taking it to Afghanistan where prices were a bit higher, they added.
Pakistani diesel, which is priced at Rs 64.63 a litre after certain increase on Sunday, is being smuggled out to Afghanistan, and it is reportedly being sold at more than Rs 75 a liter in the neighbouring country.
Smuggling of petroleum products had increased manifold because of higher prices in Afghanistan, which has overburdened Pakistan's economy as the government was giving about Rs 37 per litre subsidy, they said. Main cause of smuggling of diesel, they said, was that it was selling in Afghanistan at more than Rs 80 per litre, besides a lucrative subsidy of above Rs 37 per litre on diesel, they said.
Pakistan is facing shortage of diesel and smuggling to Afghanistan is one of the main cause of shortage. Besides smuggling of fuel, it is being exported to this neighbouring country on permits, the Interior Ministry and Petroleum Ministry had issued to different business men of the NWFP and Balochistan, who were minting huge money at the cost of Pakistan's exchequer. Both the important check points of Torkham and Chaman were brought under vigil and agencies were asked to remain alert to check smuggling, said the sources.
Oil industry sources said that the problem of diesel shortage was more alarming in Balochistan and the NWFP rather than in Punjab and Sindh as it was smuggled out from the nearest two provinces. However, they could not give an exact figure of diesel being smuggled.
Meanwhile, following the build up of Nato troops on the Pak-Afghan border, local Taliban last week have imposed a ban on the smuggling of diesel to Afghanistan. They have also appointed volunteers on the routes leading to Afghanistan to check the practice. They have also summoned the Taliban Shura (council) to decide whether or not to ban the supply of food grains to Afghanistan.
The Taliban announced that fine of Rs 0.5 million would be imposed on those involved in the smuggling. It pertinent to note that according to an estimate 60,000 to 80,000 litre oil being smuggled daily from the tribal areas to Afghanistan and after the ban, the smuggling has been stopped. The ban by Taliban brought a big shock to the business tycoons and officials involved in this illegal business, as they are well aware that Taliban will not show mercy to the smugglers.