In this important segment from HUM TV’s morning show, Brig (Retd) Haris Nawaz, a well-known security and defense analyst, explains how Pakistan’s vast illegal economy undermines national security. He discusses how smuggling, under-invoicing, tax evasion, and the illegal trade in commodities such as fuel, consumer goods, and counterfeit products weaken the state’s writ, deprive the exchequer of vital revenue, and create financial channels that can be exploited by extremist and criminal networks.
In particular, the discussion raises hard questions about the illegal cigarette trade. While the documented, tax-paying cigarette industry is heavily regulated and monitored, a large parallel market of non-duty-paid and smuggled cigarettes operates in the shadows. This illegal segment not only evades hundreds of billions of rupees in taxes every year, it also operates outside formal banking and regulatory oversight. Brig (Retd) Haris Nawaz underlines how such unrecorded cash flows can overlap with money laundering, organized crime, and, ultimately, potential terror financing.
For ACT Alliance, this conversation is central to our advocacy. Illegal trade is not only an economic issue, it is also a security risk. Every rupee that escapes the formal tax system through smuggling, counterfeiting, or illegal cigarettes is a rupee that may strengthen networks that threaten Pakistan’s stability, investors’ confidence, and citizens’ safety. Combating illicit trade therefore becomes part of a broader national security agenda, where enforcement, intelligence, financial regulation, and political will must come together.
Visitors to this page are encouraged to watch the original program and listen directly to Brig (Retd) Haris Nawaz’s analysis of this critical nexus between illegal trade and terror risks. The full HUM TV morning show segment can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcW1gyFjkY8