KARACHI: Pakistan Customs celebrated the World Customs Day across the country under the umbrella of World Customs Organization (WCO) on January 26, 2016.
A huge quantity of contrabands goods and drugs seized by the Customs including drugs, liquor, banned medicines, cigarettes, firecrackers, ghutka, poppy seed, expired soft drinks etc were destroyed.
Pakistan Customs is struggling to control the flow of hazardous items to Pakistan. The destruction of drugs, liquor, and smuggled items is a clear gesture that there is no any space in Pakistan for such items.
Chairman FBR Nisar Mohammad Khan said Directorate of Automation efficiently met a very difficult target of implementing WeBOC. Worldover, the Customs has evolved in a due course of time. He underlined the importance of anti-smuggling campaign adding the campaign delivered and revenue increased significantly. Customs contribute 40 percent of the direct taxes.
Member Customs Nasir Masroor termed Chairman FBR Nisar Mohammad Khan as a role model and congratulated him for being a Customs group officer to become chairman after a long time.
Celebrations at Karachi started with the national flag hoisting ceremony performed by Chief Collector Enforcement Muhammad Zahid Khokhar. Collector Preventive Tariq Huda, Collector Port Qasim Surraya Ahmed Butt, Collectors Appraisement Agha Jawwad, Majid Yousafani, Director General Javed Ghani, Director Wajid Ali, Director General Sameera Nazir, Director Manzoor Memon, Collector Wasif Memon and Chaudry Javed, Director General Ghulam Ahmed, Collector Saifudding Junejo, Agha Shahid Majeed, Additional Collectors Tahir Qureshi, Khalid Jamali, Azhar Merchant, Irfan Wahid, Shahab Imam, Irfan Javed, Basit Chaudry, Shaukat Ali, Rana Tasleem, Nayyar Shafique, Mohammad Tahir, Haris Ansari other officers were present.
Commendation Certificates were awarded among officers nominated by FBR, which include Director Wajid Ali, Additional Collector Azhar Merchant, Deputy Director Naveed Abbas Memon, Azeem Afzal and Arshad Hussain of PRAL, IPS Salahuddin Wazir, SPS Tayyab Khan, Inspectors Shahzad Akhtar, Nasrullah Khan, Preventive Officer Malak Mohammad Hashim, Transport Officer Nasir Masood Jafry and Assistant Librarian Shahnaz Zaidi.
Chief Collector Customs Islamabad Sarwat Habib Tahira welcomed the Chief Guest Haroon Akhtar, Advisor to the Prime Minister at the ceremony in Islamabad. She said Pakistan Customs, in its day-to-day operations, works closely with business in a shared endeavor to enhance performance.
All the stakeholders need to make a commitment to work more closely together, redouble their efforts to secure international co-operation and take bold initiatives aimed at simplification, speed, flexibility, predictability, effectiveness and fairness of procedures, in order to put spirit in the WCO’s theme for International Customs Day for the year 2016, she said.
The ceremony held in Islamabad was attended by the Director Customs Intelligence Imtiaz Ahmed, Additional Director head Quarters Islamabad Dry Port Abdul Waheed Khan Marwat, diplomats and retired custom officers and officials.
At celebrations in Lahore, Rozi Khan Burki, Chief Collector (Central), Mukarram Jah, Collector of Customs MCC (Preventive),Lahore, Sarfraz Ahmad Warraich, Collector Customs MCC, Multan, Muhammad Sadiq Collector, Customs MCC (Appraisement), Lahore and Zulifqar Ali Chaudhary, Collector Customs MCC, Faisalabad addressed the audience on slogan of World Customs Organization, Digital Customs – Progressive Engagement (WCO) for the year 2016. Chief Collector also inaugurated the Resource Center at Custom House Lahore.
Collector Peshawar Qurban Ali, Additional Collectors Aftab Haider, Abdul Samad Khan, Director Transit Trade Dr. Naeem and many other officers were present at the ceremony in Peshawar, which was a soft event given the recent Charsadda University attack.
Certificates were also awarded among officials for performing meritorious performance.
The WCO is dedicating 2016 to promoting the digitalization of Customs process under the slogan “Digital Customs: Progressive Engagement.”
Customs organizations worldwide celebrate International Customs Day (ICD) each year on 26 January. This marks the day of the first official meeting of the Customs Co-operation Council, held in Brussels on 26th of January, 1953 in presence of representatives of seventeen European countries; now known as the World Customs Organization, which has 177 member states.
International Customs Day theme highlights the significance of business partnership approach. It contributes in many areas such as trade supply chain security, worldwide customs growth, enhancing business standards and public-private enterprises.
WCO members celebrate international customs day as a magnificent reminder to play vital role to the customs bodies all over the world.