Balochistan is Hotbed of Smuggling 

It is noteworthy that Balochistan shares a border with Iran and Afghanistan and has been a hotbed of smuggling activities. The smuggling of essential items through Balochistan to the neighboring countries has worsened the crisis, particularly in the current economic situation when Pakistan could not bear such losses.  Measures taken to stop intra-provincial and out-of-country smuggling are not enough. The meeting was informed that a countrywide operation was ongoing against the smuggling of urea fertilizer and sugar. In this connection, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to review measures to stop the smuggling of essential items like sugar, wheat, flour, and urea from Pakistan. He expressed his displeasure at the slow pace of work in ending smuggling and ordered immediate action against warehouses involved in hoarding and smuggling. The prime minister stressed that anti-smuggling courts should be made functional with an increase in the number of reputable judges and prosecutors. He directed that a comprehensive strategy be developed for the long term to overcome the problem of smuggling. The prime minister also ordered an increase in check posts in the border districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to curtail smuggling activities in those regions.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recently made an amendment to the Customs Act, 1969, which now includes wheat, sugar, and urea in the list of essential commodities.  The penalties vary depending on the value of the goods that have been smuggled. If the value of the goods is between PKR 500,001 to 3,000,000, the individual involved will be subject to a penalty not exceeding the value of the goods, and may also face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. For goods valued between PKR 3,000,001 to 5,000,000, the penalty may not exceed two times the value of the goods, and imprisonment may be for a term not exceeding three years. the chief secretary should provide figures of demand for these items in the border districts of provinces so that supply in these districts should not exceed more than a set limit. In order to ensure supply of these items, sugar and urea confiscated during the operation against smuggling should be sold in the bazaar according to the price fixed by the government. Exemplary punishment should be given to those who cause losses of billions of dollars to the country.
A countrywide operation was continuing against the smuggling of urea fertilizer and sugar. FBR and the law enforcement institutions on Sunday seized 49 trucks while Frontier Corps also foiled attempts to smuggle thousands of tonnes of urea and sugar and confiscated the commodities. 740 warehouses used for hoarding, were being identified in the border districts across the country. In the last four days the law enforcement agencies confiscated 2800 metric tonnes of sugar and 1400 metric tonnes of urea during numerous raids.  Joint patrolling teams were being set up to stop cross-border smuggling and on the reports of intelligence agencies four joint patrolling checkpoints were established in Balochistan where law enforcement institutions and FBR would work together.
SUPARCO should provide real-time satellite imagery of the country’s borders and data of movement in order to put a stop to smuggling. The warehouses in the border districts were being identified and dealers and their facilitators were being located with the help of a track and trace system after the seizure of goods during failed attempts of smuggling. Routes used for smuggling should be identified and the persons involved in such activities should be pinpointed and action be taken against them.