Peshawar
Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary on Monday directed intelligence-based operations against smuggling and hoarding of essential commodities. He gave the instruction while presiding over a meeting of the provincial task force on anti-smuggling and hoarding of essential commodities and other items.
The Chief Secretary said that, constituted on the direction of the Prime Minister, the task force would ensure that smuggling and hoarding of essential commodities are halted and strict action is taken against violators as per law.
The forum was apprised that sufficient stock of sugar was available in the province, which would last until the start of the sugar crushing season in mid-November, provided that smuggling and hoarding of the commodity was controlled. To stop currency smuggling, scanning and full body searches at airports and border points are standard procedures. It was further informed that 21 provincial joint check posts had been established in border districts, manned by officials of the agriculture and food department, the police, and the district administration. The Chief Secretary stressed upon the authorities to work in close coordination to tackle the sugar crisis, smuggling of currency, POL, timber, and fertilizers.
Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary said that task force meetings would be regularly held fortnightly. Officials of good repute should be posted at border points, hee said performance reports about checkpoints would be sought from intelligence agencies and the special branch. The Chief Secretary directed that timber cutting and smuggling be discouraged as this severely reduce forest cover. The meeting was attended by administrative secretaries, representatives of police, customs, intelligence agencies, and others.
