Oil smugglers, officials connive

Intelligence agencies have unearthed a racket involving 738 petrol filling stations, smugglers and officials, who collaborated to smuggle the Iranian petroleum products, inflicting an annual loss of Rs227 billion to the national exchequer. Some 533 petrol pumps, 100 corrupt officials and 105 Iranian oil smugglers are part of this racket, who have indulged in illegal trade of petroleum products. They bring oil via land and sea routes to Pakistan. The smuggling of Iranian petroleum products has doubled since the current Shehbaz Sharif-led government took over in early March this year. Earlier, it had been slashed to half during a widespread crackdown ordered by the previous caretaker administration. Before the clampdown, 2,000 to 2,100 vehicles had been illegally bringing 7.5 million litres of oil daily via the land route. Apart from that, 2,700 to 3,000 boats were shipping 2.6 million litres through Gwadar. According to a report compiled by the intelligence agencies, mainly the the terrorism-hit southern Balochistan, where economic opportunities are very scarce, is involved in the illicit purchase and sale of Iranian oil. Moreover, militant and terrorist groups in the province, particularly those operating in southern parts (Makran and Rakhshan divisions), reportedly receive a slice of the profit being generated from oil smuggling.