ISLAMABAD: The government has said that there has been a 79 per cent decrease in the Afghan transit trade in the current fiscal year after it launched a vigorous crackdown on smuggling from across the Afghan border.
According to media reports, the 79pc decrease in the Afghan transit trade was recorded from July to November 2024. During this period, the transit trade volume stood at 460.46 million US dollars.
In comparison, transit trade of more than 2.23 billion US dollars had been recorded from July 2023 to November 2023.
According to reports, different goods are imported by Afghan traders and are transported to Afghanistan via Pakistan. However, most of these goods are smuggled back to Pakistani markets.
The government last year launched a crackdown on smuggling from Afghanistan and increased penalties on those found involved in the illegal activity.
As part of its stringent measures to check smuggling, any vehicle transporting caught being used in smuggling is now confiscated by the government. In the past such vehicles were released after imposing a meager penalty on it.
Observers have said that the government action and crackdown on smuggling from Afghanistan besides other positive impacts on economy have also stabilized the rupee against the US dollars.
