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Smuggling Through Afghan Borders Regains Momentum In Pakistan
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| Smuggled goods are common in Islamabad markets |
By IOL correspondent in Pakistan, Aamir Latif
QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan. 18 (IslamOnline) - Following the collapse of the strict Taliban government in Afghanistan, smuggling of several items from the war-ravaged country to Pakistan, particularly under the garb of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), has regained momentum despite the closure of the Pak-Afghan borders.
Industry people say that smuggling has somewhat gained momentum since the start of the restructuring and rehabilitation process in Afghanistan in the third week of December. They say that if the situation completely normalizes in Afghanistan, the flow of smuggled goods into Pakistan will further pick up.
The inflow of some smuggled items into Pakistan had seen a slight cessation for about 15-20 days when American air force launched massive air attacks on Afghanistan in the second week of October, but it resumed with the defeat of the Taliban forces, industry people say.
Markets in the cities of Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar are now flooded with smuggled items; tea, soaps and detergents, tires, TV sets, telephones, watches, auto parts, cosmetic items, clothes, crockery and cutlery items, shoes, garments and electrical and electronic items.
Tea smuggling, just to name one example, stopped just for 15-20 days before finding its way back into the markets. "Tea smuggling has resumed," chairman of the Pakistan Tea Association (PTA), Mohammad Hanif Janoo, told IslamOnline Friday, January 18.
"Around 25,000 to 30,000 tons of tea arrived in Pakistan last year, inflicting a loss of $50 million to the kitty (Pakistani currency)," he said. Janoo added that the inflow of illegal tea will increase this year since the government has raised the import duty on tea to 30 per cent from 25 per cent in budget.
Tea smuggling had dropped to 15,000 tons from 40,000 tons when import duty was slashed to 25 per cent from 45 per cent in 1998.
Chairman of Pakistan Tires Importers and Dealers Association (PTIDA), Aslam Awan, said that only two months - October and November - saw suspension of smuggled tires, particularly of Japanese origin, from the Afghan border, which resumed, however, following the Taliban's surrender.
Indian heavy vehicle tires continued to arrive despite tension at the Afghan borders.
In the meantime, Japanese smuggled tires became costlier by five to ten per cent, but later prices reverted to old rates due to frequent supplies from the border.
Awan said smuggled heavy vehicle tires currently maintain a market share of 60 per cent, while the share of smuggled car tires is estimated at 25 per cent despite genuine imports and local production. Pakistan's annual imports of tires and tubes is $60- 70 million.
Locally produced tires are costlier compared to smuggled tires. However, imported tires also cost 15 per cent more compared to smuggled ones. He said people prefer imported and smuggled tires due to their quality and durability coupled with price factor.
Chairman of Pakistan Electronics Dealers Association (PEMA), Sarfar Azuddin, said that smuggling has restarted after a temporary stoppage. It was never really halted.
He said an estimated 8,000 to 16,000 color TV sets arrive through illegal routes every month out of a total demand of 50,000 to 60,000 sets per month. The rest is being assembled locally by 10 companies. Azuddin said the smuggling from the Afghan border might increase further after political changes in Afghanistan.
Pakistan used to illegally receive 20-30 tons of toilet soaps through the Afghan border and 15 tons through the Iranian border. A large number of customers have now shifted to imported soaps, as they are cheaper in value.
Vice President of Karachi Watch Importers Group (KWIG), G.M. Shahzada, said the arrival of smuggled watches (wrist and wall clock) through the Afghan border is very negligible. A sizable quantity of wall clock arrives from the Chinese border. However, a large quantity of wristwatches arrives through flights from Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
He said Pakistani markets are flooded with a variety of smuggled watches and wall clocks, and people pay cheaper prices to buy them despite knowing they are short-lived due to quality poor. He said an estimated 175,000-200,000 pieces of wristwatches land in Pakistan through these flights and other routes out of an annual total demand of 250,000 watches.
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