QUETTA: The Balochistan cabinet has advised the police, the chief collector customs enforcement, the coast guards and the Frontier Corps (FC) to remove unnecessary check posts of the law enforcement agencies on the highways across the province.
The cabinet expressed grave concern over the misbehavior of the law enforcement agencies with the general public and the long delays caused by the check posts.
The cabinet noted that the self-respect of the general public must be protected by the law enforcement agencies and that they should carry out targeted operations against anti-social elements, such as drug sellers and consumers.
The cabinet decided that in future, no check post of any law enforcement agency would be established without the prior approval or NOC of the home department.
The cabinet also reviewed the law and order situation in the province, where a sense of deprivation was deepening among the people due to various issues, including security, development and governance.
A customs official said that customs did not have any check posts and only conducted intelligence-based operations. He said that smuggling should be curbed at the borders so that customs or any other enforcement agency would not have to bother the citizens of Pakistan.
However, some politicians and influential persons have been accused of patronizing smuggling in the province. The finance minister of Balochistan, Engineer Zamrak Achakzai, openly said that smuggling of all goods other than drugs, arms and human trafficking was not smuggling but a business. He vowed that their government would not allow customs to eradicate smuggling in the province, which he claimed was the only lifeline of the people.