KARACHI: Customs Preventive staff posted at the gate of Customs House has been strictly instructed that no armed persons, not even personnel of law enforcement and security institutions would enter the premises.
Chief Collector Enforcement South Zahid Khokhar and Collector Preventive Tariq Huda have taken note of an event happened at Customs House Karachi where some personnel in Rangers uniform along with plain clothed person said to be a major entered Customs House and Assessment Halls without any prior permission or information. The uniformed men also demanded list of names of officials posted at the Collectorates.
They claimed that they were inspecting the Customs House so that they could be ready in case of any emergency/security situation and informed that had already visited the rooftop of Customs House seeking its availability for some activity.
Moreover, they refused to disclose their respective wing and the name of their commanding officer, which creates a question mark on the authenticity of their association with Pakistan Rangers.
Officials said that law enforcement agencies/security agencies were not allowed to enter the premises of Customs House without prior permission and Pakistan Customs could extend cooperation and assistance as per the directives of the Federal Board of Revenue.
The official said the authorities at Federal Board of Revenue as well as Pakistan Rangers should probe into the incident whether it was lack of professional courtesy or breach of proper chain of command.