ISLAMABAD: Three members of a four-man commission on border crossing submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday a separate report stating that the customs department had collected Rs7 billion in duty and taxes at the Torkham post between 2013 and July 2015.

The report is independent of the details furnished on Tuesday by Additional Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Omer Farouk Adam, a member of the commission, which claimed that the national exchequer was being deprived of Rs5bn to Rs6bn a month due to undocumented economy at the Torkham border, Bara and the hawala/hundi market.

Also read-Editorial: Undocumented cross-border trade

But the new report, submitted on behalf of Additional Attorney General Mohammad Waqar Rana, FIA Director Jaffar Shah and chief (international customs) of FBR Dr Mohammad Zubair Yousfani, claimed that the amount collected as duty and taxes stood at Rs2.7bn in 2013-14, Rs3.5bn in 2014-15 and Rs870.5 million till July 2015.

Customs officials posted at the Torkham border seized contraband/offending goods worth millions of rupees, recovering Rs20.84m in 2013-14 and Rs24.96m in 2014-15. The narcotics seized from commercial cargo included 5.5kg of heroin and 26kg of Charas.

According to the report, the commission was informed that the federal government has started a project called “Integrated Transit Trade Management System” with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank to facilitate cross-border trade and combat illicit trade.

In January last year, it said, the prime minister had constituted a steering committee headed by the finance minister and comprising six relevant federal ministers/secretaries to look into the project. The committee has so far held five meetings and a feasibility report for the $320m project has been approved by Central Development Working Party. It will be presented before the Executive Committee of National Economic Council on Friday. Due diligence, environmental and socio-economic analysis, technical evaluation and project appraisal had been completed, the report said.

The project is primarily aimed at improving infrastructure and installation of state-of-the-art security equipment (scanners, weighbridges, CCTV cameras, etc) to strengthen customs’ control over three major border crossing points for trade –Wagha, Torkham and Chaman – to ensure security of supply chain.

At present immigration functions are being performed by the political administration, with Khyber Agency’s Tehsildar acting as chief immigration officer. “No record is being maintained of the travellers crossing the international border, except for those who travel with valid documents and wish to get their passports stamped,” the report said.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that only government officers, employees of the NGOs, big businessmen and people who want to travel onwards to other foreign destinations from Pakistan cross border with valid documents. About 600 to 700 such passengers travel on a daily basis.

Since no record of the passengers travelling without valid documents is kept, their numbers are based on estimates. It has been observed that most of the pedestrian traffic (around 99 per cent) cross border without any documentation.

Under the Torkham Interim Development Initiative led by the HQ 11 Corps, NLC and Fata Secretariat, officials of Nadra and FIA have been deployed at Torkham for registration and clearance of pedestrian traffic with valid travel documents.

“Since the status of the FIA Act is yet unclear and the SOP for treating Afghan nationals who do not possess valid travel documents is yet to be put in place, the agency is not keeping the record of persons entering Pakistan through Torkham,” the report said.

About 15,000 people cross the Torkham border every day for various reasons, including business, social obligations, medical treatment, cultural events, marriages, etc, in terms of easement rights provided under the 1893 agreement between tribes and the British government.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2015

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