Corruption leads to increase in smuggling via Wagah

Smuggling at the Wagah border crossing is on the increase during the past six months, because Pakistani Customs officials can be easily bribed, an official has claimed.

Lahore, Aug 25 : Smuggling at the Wagah border crossing is on the increase during the past six months, because Pakistani Customs officials can be easily bribed, an official has claimed.

Most smuggled goods enter Pakistan from India on the Samjhauta Express, while other goods enter via border villages, the Daily Times reports.

The official alleged that in some cases travellers smuggled Indian cloth, cosmetics and other banned items to Pakistan with the help of the Customs officials.

Border villages also exchanged banned goods with each other, including alcohol, gold and cosmetics from the Indian side and silver from the Pakistan side.

According to the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between India and Pakistan, Islamabad can import 700 items from New Delhi, including meat, vegetables, goats, cows and spices etc, while India can import 15 items from Pakistan including crockery and water coolers etc.

However, this agreement does not prevent smugglers from ferrying two to three baskets of betel leaf, betel nuts, supari and other Indian products while returning to Pakistan.

Abbas Ali, a Customs Assistant Collector, said that his department has controlled smuggling.

He said that whenever the Samjhauta Express arrived from India, Customs officials at Wagah Railway Station thoroughly checked the luggage of all passengers, and if they found any betel leaves, nuts or other banned Indian items they impounded them and auctioned them off the same day.

Pakistan Rangers spokesman Nadeem Raza also said that he had no knowledge of smuggling through the Indo-Pak border, and added that he would discuss the situation after talking to his seniors.

ANI