The rapid increase in vehicles carrying Iranian oil, accidents have been routine in different parts of Balochistan. Following the tragic death of Makran division commissioner, Once again Balochistan Chief Secretary Capt (retd) Fazeel Asghar has instructed the commissioners and assistant commissioners to check all the buses, trucks, pickups and other vehicles loaded with containers of petroleum.

CS said all the commissioners and assistant commissioners would be held responsible if any such vehicle is seen plying in their areas of jurisdiction. He also directed custom authorities and Frontier Corps to check the smuggling of petroleum products into Pakistan.

On Thursday late night Commissioner Makran division Tariq Zehri along with four other persons burnt to death in a road accident .The incident occurred when the vehicle of deceased Commissioner collided with the vehicle carrying Iranian oil.

The sale of smuggled Iranian petrol and diesel has spiked in the Balochistan province as it is being done commonly on daily basis. The prevention of such an illegal business is still a demand today.  The sale of petrol and diesel go unchecked on illegal petrol pumps.

Incidents of fire eruption have also occurred on such petrol pumps several times but the relevant authorities have failed to curb the smuggling process.

The vehicles used for smuggling the oil are a danger for the public as they can cause a major tragedy anytime.

In its real sense, Balochistan is paradise for the smugglers where the formal economy has no chance to grow in decades to come. It seems that the rulers are least interested in developing Balochistan making Pakistan half developed and half backward.

Smuggled cars and Iranian petrol or diesel had replaced all other items and it can make people billionaire if he develops right connections at right time. Millions of liters of Iranian fuel are being smuggled to Balochistan first and later on taken to the remote areas even close to the India borders.

There are hundreds of check posts manage by security officials, mainly border guards, Iranian petrol and diesel passed through all the check posts with cast iron guarantees and manage to reach Punjab and Sindh for sale. Unending queue of the trucks with empty drums loaded waiting for their turn at a huge petrol pumps meant for local residents in remote parts of Iranian Balochistan. At that time, local people enjoyed a substantial subsidy on petrol from the Government of Iran. Thus petrol and diesel was much cheaper for local consumption at that time.

Smuggling of petrol and diesel is patronized in a very big way and not possible for the Government to stop it, to say it precisely. Only a revolutionary Government can stop it.  For this reason, the Government functionaries were found opposing normal and legal trade between Iranian and Pakistani Balochistan. People doing legal imports and exports were harassed and their legal consignment impounded and their documents destroyed before their eyes.

In other words, they were bluntly told to do smuggling and stop legal import and exports as they get nothing from this legal trade. Fuel smuggling has been carried out through Gwadar, Kech and Panjgur districts for the past two decades.

The provincial Government also banned smuggling of oil on all passenger buses and other vehicles and issued instructions to the security officials to take appropriate action if anyone found violating the ban but it’s continued. However, the bus operators and other vehicles are ignoring this order and smuggling oil in large quantity to maximize their profit and earnings at the risk of the passengers. Hours and hours passenger buses detained at the check posts caught carrying smuggled oil. It is a great risk involving lives of dozens of passengers. We suggest the Balochistan government should take action against the bus operators and impound their vehicle on the spot if found carrying smuggled diesel or petrol. The entire staff of the check post should be terminated from service, after legal proceedings, if found conniving with the smugglers.