https://arab.news/27mp8
- Iranian petroleum products are smuggled frequently into Pakistan due to Iran’s low production costs, weak currency
- Iran and Pakistan share 900-kilometer porous and largely lawless border, where militants and smugglers operate with impunity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Coast Guards seized over 15,000 liters of Iranian diesel being smuggled into the country through the southwestern Balochistan province in two separate operations, state media reported on Tuesday.
Iranian petroleum products are regularly smuggled into Pakistan through Balochistan as Iran offers the world’s cheapest petrol and diesel due to low production costs, international sanctions and weak currency.
The illegal activity takes place regularly as Iran and Pakistan share a 900-kilometer (560-mile) porous and largely lawless border, where militants and smugglers operate with impunity.
“Pakistan Coast Guards seized 10,370 liters of illegal Iranian diesel from two vehicles at Uthal check post during routine checking,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report. It added that 5,270 liters of diesel were also recovered from three vehicles in another operation between Balochistan’s Lasbela and Hub districts.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Frontier Constabulary (FC) force seized around 379,000 liters of smuggled Iranian diesel at the Sindh-Balochistan border.
Pakistan’s petroleum dealers in May 2023 flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35 percent of diesel sold in the country had arrived illegally from Iran.