KARACHI: Balochistan’s steel bar manufacturing industry has been destroyed by thriving smuggling, leaving thousands of workers jobless.
Details
Syed Wajid Bukhari, the secretary general of the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP), warned prime minister Shehbaz Sharif in a letter on Monday that more than 80% of the steel bars sold in Balochistan were imported illegally, fraudulently, and under-invoiced from Iran.
The security apparatus’s lack of vigilance has allowed the smuggled steel to reach Lahore, Karachi, and other cities.
10% of Pakistan’s total steel production came from illegal routes in the form of steel bars. However, he asserted that this problem costs the national exchequer Rs 25 billion in lost revenue.
Wajid Bukhari explained the smuggling of steel bars
According to Mr Bukhari, around 500,000 tonnes of steel bars are being smuggled into Pakistan from Iran and Afghanistan, dealing local industries a fatal blow.
He expressed concern about the potential effects this smuggling could have on the nation, particularly about issues, like money laundering, as neither Pakistan nor Iran has any official banking channels for these purposes.
He asserted that the Customs Department intercepted huge trucks and trailers carrying illegal Iranian steel in Lahore in March and filed cases against them.
He also mentioned that in the first week of this month, a truck loaded with illegally imported steel was seized close to the Chaman border.
Bukhari suggested the import of steel
To successfully combat the threat posed by smuggling, he advised the administration that steel imports should only be permitted through sea channels.
According to Mr Bukhari, the local economy is having trouble due to severe currency devaluation and high input and financing costs. He continued by saying that the unregulated influx of illegal steel has made it difficult for the sector to survive.
Due to a lack of raw materials, he said that industrial activity has stopped and that many units are operating at a small portion of their capacity.
