Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that illegal trade and smuggling have caused considerable losses to the country.
He stated this while speaking at the meeting on Friday on the prevention of smuggling. The premier said he has been chairing meetings on the economy for the last 24 days and wanted to highlight a few things.
He said this is a fact, and the electricity theft is around Rs 400- 500 billion annually.
Similarly, theft is also occurring in the gas and petroleum sectors. Additionally, he said there are trillions of rupees in revenue collection leakages, apart from Rs2.7 trillion pending litigation.
He said these are the problems the country is facing today, and the only way to address them is for the federation, the provinces, the institutions, and the forces to work in close coordination.
He said that a significant reduction in smuggling was witnessed because of the commitment demonstrated by the interim set-up.
He said that the Chief of Army Staff’s personal commitment contributed to the result, for which he was thankful.
If Rs58 billion was recovered on account of electricity theft in the last nine months, then why can billions of rupees more not be recovered, he questioned.
The prime minister said that the government has devised a system for digitizing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and consultants will be hired next month to start the process.
He also mentioned a few days ago meeting on the law and order situation and stated that an attempt was made to harm the future of the country through an attack on Bisham.
He said this is the collective responsibility to thwart the enemy’s plans.
He said he had asked the interior minister to hold provincial meetings to overcome these problems.
APP adds: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on measures against a spectrum of illegal activities here on Friday.