Summary The PALSP suggests the import of steel should be allowed only through sea routes
QUETTA (Web Desk) - Steel bar manufacturing in Balochistan has come to a halt nowadays, rendering thousands of workers jobless. The major reasons behind the closure are said to be smuggling of steel bars from Iran and shortage of raw materials.
Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) Secretary General Syed Wajid Bukhari, in a letter, informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that over 80pc steel bars sold in Balochistan were coming from Iran through smuggling, misdeclaration and under-invoicing.
He said the smuggled steel is now reaching out to Lahore and Karachi as well as other cities, adding around 500,000 tonnes of steel bars were being smuggled into various parts of Pakistan from Iran and Afghanistan.
Bukhari said the arrival of steel bars through illegal channels was 10 per cent of the total steel being produced in Pakistan. However, this menace is causing a revenue loss of Rs25 billion to the national exchequer annually, he added.
Bukhari raised concerns over the implications this smuggling could bring before the country, particularly regarding the issues like money laundering, as Pakistan and Iran don't have any formal banking channel for this purpose.
He claimed in March large trucks/trailers carrying smuggled Iranian steel were caught in Lahore by the Customs Department and cases were lodged against them, saying a truck full of smuggled steel was confiscated near the Chaman border in the first week of this month as well.
Bukhari lamented that despite repeated requests to the government to deter this unlawful activity by taking effective measures, no steps have so far been taken to control this illegal activity.
The PALSP office-bearer suggested the government that the import of steel should be allowed only through sea routes to effectively counter the threat posed by smuggling.
