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• Committee seeks 20-year record of tobacco factories, their pending dues
• PID told to submit details of all media contracts, awareness campaign expenses
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) failed to provide the required data to a Senate sub-committee on Monday, prompting the panel to seek a comprehensive 20-year record of tobacco tax collection, factories and pending dues worth billions of rupees.
The meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics was held at the Old PIPS Hall, Parliament Lodges, with Senator Saifullah Abro in the chair.
Senators Mohammad Talha Mahmood, Dilawar Khan and Hidayatullah Khan also attended the meeting.
Javed Iqbal Tarar, chief sales tax at the FBR, was asked to leave the meeting after failing to submit the data earlier sought by the committee, thereby hindering the proceedings.
The panel also expressed con-cern over the lack of information on tax collection from tobacco manufacturers.
It noted that while Customs had earlier reported tobacco-related taxes amounting to Rs75 billion, subsequent deliberations suggested that around Rs40bn remained outstanding.
The committee directed the FBR to submit documentary evidence of the outstanding taxes, a complete list of tobacco companies and their brands, details of imported raw materials, and revenue and tax collection data for the past two decades.
It also sought records of all tobacco factories registered over the past 20 years.
Officials told the panel that Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris Pakistan were among the major tax-paying tobacco companies.
The committee was informed that the FBR had deployed Rangers to help curb tax evasion in the sector.
Media campaigns
The Press Information Department (PID) briefed the committee on media awareness campaigns carried out for various ministries. It said the campaigns were aired on 92 television channels, with the costs borne by the sponsoring ministries.
Campaigns against the sale of illegal cigarettes were carried out on behalf of the FBR.
The convener directed the PID to submit complete details of all media contracts, campaign expenditures and agreements with TV channels.
He also said that the department continued to operate without a centralised system.
The committee directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the corruption case involving Badshah Wazir, particularly regarding allegations that raw materials imported for tax-exempt areas never reached their intended destinations.
On narcotics control, the committee was informed that the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) accounted for about 49 per cent of the country’s total drug seizures last year.
Drug abuse patterns
Officials said drug abuse patterns were shifting from plant-based substances to synthetic and chemical drugs.
The panel discussed the possibility of using confiscated narcotics for pharmaceutical or research purposes, within the legal framework, to generate revenue instead of destroying them.
Karachi South deputy inspector general told the committee that over 105,000 narcotics cases had been registered and about 127,000 suspects arrested between 2013 and 2026.
The committee also reviewed the high-profile Anmol alias “Pinky” drug trafficking case.
Expressing concern over con-flicting accounts of her arrest, the convener questioned the extensive police escort during her court appearances and directed the relevant agencies to investigate into her alleged links with influential individuals.
Officials said 28 cases had been registered against Anmol and 35 delivery riders linked to her network had been arrested.
They added that certain Nigerian nationals in Lahore’s Nishtar Colony were allegedly part of her network.
Senator Talha Mahmood also sought data from Pakistan Customs on the under-invoicing of mining raw materials and trade through the Sost border and with Iran.
The convener summoned the police chiefs of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan to the next mee-ting and directed all departments to submit the required information in advance.
Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2026
