November 20, 2002	Wednesday	Ramazan 14, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Nov 19: The Sarhad Petroleum Cartage and Dealers Association (SPCDA) has demanded of the government to take action against those who are selling smuggled petroleum from Iran.

According to a SPCDA press release issued here on Tuesday, the dealers of Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Mengowara and major cities of the province were facing problems because of the sale of smuggled petroleum in their areas.

SPCDA president Mansoor Sharif said the dealers who pay taxes to the government were facing loss in their business.” The smuggled petroleum which is sold openly in Peshawar city is of very low quality.

It not only damages the machinery of the vehicles, but also causes a lot of pollution”, he added.

He said the association has already informed the authorities concerned about this illegal activity but effective action is not taken as yet by the Custom and Excise departments. The smugglers are thriving and the sale of smuggled petroleum is on the increase, he claimed.

Earlier, he said the Sarhad Petroleum Cartage and Dea-lers Association had given Nov 15 as deadline to the authorities to do away with the illegal business.

The government and the oil companies had assured them of taking measures to stop this activity, but it had not stopped this activity completely as yet.

Instead of putting a complete ban on smuggling of oil from the tribal belt, the police had found another lucrative area to mint money from it, he added.