Iranian Oil smuggling skyrockets after new government takes over

Urdu News reported on April 30 that under the new government that came into being after the February 8 elections, the smuggling of Iranian oil has increased by 67 per cent.

During the previous caretaker set-up, a crackdown resulted in smuggling being reduced by half across the country.

89 lacs litres of Iranian oil is being smuggled to Pakistan daily through six land and sea routes of five districts in Balochistan out of which 70 per cent is further smuggled to three major provinces, Urdu News revealed.

According to a report prepared by the Civil Intelligence Department in April, 105 people, including many current members of the Balochistan Assembly, former provincial ministers and politicians, were involved in the smuggling of Iranian oil.

After the general elections, the smuggling of Iranian oil has again reached an estimated 8.9 million litres per day.

The smuggling causes a loss of at least Rs 277 billion to the national exchequer.