This is with reference to the letter published in your issue of 13 August. The distinguished writer has presented the case against smuggled fabrics in a very patriotic sense and he must be commended and applauded. The fact of the matter is that the Government had allowed the liberal imports of fabrics by justifying, among other reasons, that there was massive smuggling of fabrics into the country and the legal imports would curb this ever-growing menace. Moreover, the proponents of liberal fabrics imports pointed out that the quality of Pakistani fabrics is not world-class and that imports will provide the required impetus to improve the quality.

The main argument that the smuggling regime has intensified in the past few years holds true. The country has been made hostage by the true enemies of this Motherland----- the smugglers. In blatant connivance with corrupt authorities, in open disregard for all norms and procedures, and in full support of the extra-ordinary wealth and influence at their beck and call, these transgressors have made a mockery of all laws and have, in the process, wrecked the entire economy of Pakistan. Today, it is the rule of the jungle. The various SROs, rules, and regulations have been thrown to the high winds and the criminals are having open season. The only sufferers are the genuine industrialists and businessmen who are paying heavy taxes, duties, and rates inspite of the declining economic conditions in the market.

The Government has totally failed in its approach towards curbing the rampant increase in smuggling. The CBR higher authorities bide away their precious time conjuring up new ways to fleece the business community. Any and all pleas to stop the menace of smuggling fall on deaf ears. The high priests sitting in the cozy atmosphere of the Secretariats are playing the usual game of watching the politicians acting in their own production of Ten Little Indians, laughing their guts away at the shenanigans of the pygmy politicos. They don’t give a dime to the sufferings of the industrial community. The smuggling barons have their tentacles well entrenched into the citadels of the bureaucracy and the Parliament to fret about the brouhaha of businessmen clamoring for a re-thinking into the infamous Afghan Transit Trade Agreement. The flagrant misuse of the Dry Ports facilities is well enshrined in the public knowledge.

The idea that legal imports will deter the unscrupulous smuggler is like sending a robber to catch the thief. Do they really think that this will keep the smugglers away? Do they really believe that the Customs personnel and the Border guards will forego their share of the pie by getting the smugglers to become legit?

The argument that the Pakistani fabric is not upto the mark is fallacious. If one enters the domestic Baras, one can come up to the shoddy, rejected, and low value imported fabrics available aplenty. This is what happens when fabrics are liberally allowed into the local market. It is a rare occasion when one finds premium-value foreign fabrics in Pakistan. The local populace, still suffering from the foreign-is-best colonial mentality, falls prey to the dealers selling low-grade imported fabrics. It does no wonders for those domestic apparel manufacturers who use these smuggled fabrics. A case in point is the disaster to the trade with the buyers from the Central Asian Republics. These buyers who until recently swarmed the local markets have now all gone to Dubai. The domestic store-keepers, in order to make a quick buck, and in keeping with their myopic outlook, started under-cutting the genuine manufacturers by resorting to the purchase of defective Taiwanese fabrics from Dubai and sold a lot of trousers and suits made from these fabrics to the CAR buyers. The end result was zero buyers and a tremendous loss of dollars and prestige. The government should really become serious and must protect the industries here by coming down heavily against the smugglers. That is the National Agenda.