Islamabad – ACT Alliance Pakistan has lauded the recent series of successful anti-smuggling operations carried out by Pakistan Customs, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the Inland Revenue Enforcement Network (IREN), describing them as concrete proof that the state is beginning to push back against the illegal economy that has long eroded national revenues.
Speaking to economic reporters in Islamabad, Mubashir Akram, Country Director of ACT Alliance Pakistan, said that the officials of these institutions are “serving as Pakistan’s first line of economic security” and deserve full recognition and support. He added, “When Customs and IREN officers stop a truck of smuggled goods, they are not just seizing contraband; they are defending the rights of every honest taxpayer and every lawful business in this country.”
Akram specifically praised the latest operation by the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Peshawar, whose officials in Dera Ismail Khan intercepted a truck near Waziristan Chowk, seizing smuggled foreign-origin cigarettes, polyester cloth rolls, and betel nuts worth more than Rs 51 million. The truck, travelling from Quetta to Rawalpindi, was taken into custody and action initiated under the Pakistan Customs Act, 1969. “This is exactly the kind of intelligence-led, swift action that Pakistan needs on all smuggling routes,” he said.
He also welcomed earlier operations in November in which Customs Enforcement Multan seized smuggled cigarettes valued at Rs 21.134 million, and Customs Enforcement Peshawar reported further seizures worth Rs 27.4 million along key transit corridors. “Every such seizure sends a clear message that the era of impunity for smugglers and tax evaders must come to an end,” Akram remarked.
Akram highlighted IREN’s growing role in this campaign, noting its record raid near Bhera Interchange on the M-2, where six trucks carrying large quantities of non-tax-paid cigarettes were intercepted. He described IREN’s record of more than 1,400 raids nationwide since 2022, including the confiscation of hundreds of millions of illegal cigarette sticks and raw tobacco, as “a critical and often under-appreciated contribution to economic stability.”
“The illegal economy is not a side issue; it is at the heart of why Pakistan struggles to raise enough revenue,” Akram said. “ACT Alliance strongly supports FBR, Pakistan Customs, and IREN in their efforts, and we urge the government to give them every legal, technological, and operational tool they need to sustain and deepen this enforcement drive.”
He concluded by emphasizing that consistent action against smuggling and non-duty-paid trade is essential if Pakistan is to strengthen its fiscal position, protect compliant businesses, and move toward genuine economic independence.