ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday ordered strict action against those involved in smuggling, which he said was causing irreparable loss to the country’s economy.

He was chairing a meeting to review the measures to curb smuggling in the country, according to a statement of the PM House. The prime minister, while ordering strict action against people involved in smuggling, stated the anti-smuggling measures would result in revenue generation, which would be spent on welfare of the common man.

During the meeting, the prime minister was told that oil smuggling and its sale at 2,094 filling stations across the county was inflicting an annual economic loss from Rs100 billion to Rs150 billion to the country.

Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razaq Dawood, Special Assistant on Accountability Shehzad Akbar and other high-ranking officers of the concerned ministries and departments attended the meeting. Provincial chief secretaries, high-ranking officials of the Frontier Corps, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and police chiefs of the KP and Balochistan also attended the meeting via video link.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021