ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, on Tuesday, recommended the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to devise a comprehensive strategy to curb the menace of smuggling.

The parliamentary body which met with Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman in the chair observed that smuggling is causing huge loss to the national exchequer and there is a dire need to take strict action against the menace.

The chairman said that the committee is preparing a list of Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) officials who are patronising smuggling and tax evasion.

The committee also expressed annoyance over issuance of fake notices by the Federal Investigation Agency’s officials to public and sought report in this regard during the next meeting. The chairman said that notices regarding money laundering were served to people even after their death.

The tactics of public blackmailing was adopted in the name of notices, he said.

When chairman asked about the Director General (DG) FIA, the director FIA told the committee that the DG FIA went to China in connection with a conference. A senior government official told me that the FIA issued him a fake notice regarding money laundering, the chairman said.

The FIA official told the committee that this case was related to fake degree and the agency anti-corruption is conduction investigation in this regard.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024