Afghan-Linked cigarette smuggling network poses serious threat to Pakistan’s economy and national security :ATC Alliance Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A vast and highly organized network involved in the smuggling of Afghan-linked cigarette brands into Pakistan is depriving the national exchequer of billions of rupees in tax revenue every year while posing a serious threat to the country’s national security, according to a press release issued by ACT Alliance Pakistan.
In a press release, ACT Alliance Pakistan claimed that Milano and Mond, among the most famous smuggled cigarette brands in Pakistan, are allegedly manufactured by Gulbahar Tobacco Company, which it says is owned by the Habibi family from Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The ACT Alliance Pakistan further claimed that Gulbahar Tobacco Company currently operates cigarette manufacturing facilities in Dubai and Russia.
According to ACT Alliance Pakistan, the Gulbahar Group has an extensive business network from Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Europe, United Kingdom, Russia to Pakistan. Gulbahar has business interests in cigarette manufacturing, trading, investments, hospitality, real estate, cement industry, energy, hydropower sector and major infrastructure projects.
According to ACT Alliance, Milano and Mond cigarette brands are smuggled from Afghanistan into Balochistan through various mountainous routes before being distributed through a sophisticated logistics network to major cities and retail markets across Pakistan. It further claims that smuggled cigarettes are, at times, transported under the cover of energy drinks and other legitimate goods to evade detection.
ACT Alliance Pakistan further states that multiple organized groups are involved in the smuggling network and that funds generated from the illegal sale of these cigarettes are transferred to Afghanistan every month through money laundering. According to the organization, this results in the loss of billions of rupees in government revenue each month.
Allegedly funding generated through the smuggling are being invested by the Gulbahar Group in major projects across Afghanistan. According to ACT Alliance Pakistan, the group’s portfolio especially in Afghanistan includes Gulbahar Tobacco, Gulbahar Trading, Gulbahar Hotel, Gulbahar Investment, Gulbahar Petroleum LPG Company, and Adri International Tobacco. Gulbahar group is investing in Afghanistan’s cement industry, dam construction, hydropower sector, petroleum transportation and real estate sectors. Recently Gulbahar group is developing an 8 billion dollars, 11,000-acre residential and commercial project in Kabul, USD 142 million cement plant in Herat, and is also constructing a USD 500 million hydropower project in Parwan Province. In addition, allegedly that the group also provide financial and technical support to projects associated with the Afghan military.
ACT Alliance Pakistan warned that the most alarming aspect of the alleged network is that such a sophisticated smuggling infrastructure linked with Afghanistan could potentially be exploited for espionage, terrorism, illicit financial activities and other anti-state activities. It argued that the issue should no longer be viewed merely as a case of tax evasion or cigarette smuggling, but as a matter of Pakistan’s national security. Ends
ACT Alliance Pakistan has called on federal and provincial law enforcement agencies, Pakistan Customs, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other relevant law enforcement authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged network, dismantle money-laundering channels linked with this group and take indiscriminate action against all those involved in the nationwide distribution of smuggled cigarettes especially associated with Afghanistan.