Govt unable to draft mechanism for safe disposal
MUHAMMAD ALI
KARACHI: Government has appeared feckless to draft comprehensive mechanism for safe disposal of Nato/ISAF reverse cargos, despite tall claims since 2013, it was learnt here.
Although Nato/ISAF military cargos have been retrograding from Afghanistan to its primary destinations en route to Pakistan since 2013, no mechanism has so far been evolved for its safe disposal, providing lucrative opportunities to unscrupulous elements to snatch/steal military equipment during transit.
The incessant incidents of stealing Nato/ISAF reverse cargos in Karachi have corroborated the chances of more such incidents in near future but no move has so far been taken to secure transit route for these cargos.
Sources said that customs department had proposed authority concerned to adopt tracking mechanism for safe disposal of reverse US and Nato/ISAF cargos when such incident was firstly reported on December 7, 2013 in Karachi where customs preventive had found three retrograde containers from the yard of authorized bonded carrier at Karachi.
All sophisticated military equipments from two of three containers had been de-stuffed and were filled with sand bags and ready to ship to US. While, customs officers had recovered auto parts of Armoured Personnel Vehicle (APC) from third container during raid at the yard.
Sources however said that since then no positive response had been witnessed that led two more such incidents during past six months. Over 500 containers, which are said to be Nato/Isaf reverse cargos, were stolen and dumped in warehouses in two separate incidents and customs department remains clueless to identify the complete description of these containers being shipped to its primary destinations.
Meanwhile, customs officials on being contacted claimed that it had been decided to commence satellite monitoring system for reverse cargos as well.
They said that customs had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from different tracker companies and now they were in a process to award contract for satellite monitoring of reverse cargos. Moreover, sources said that successful tracker company would install trackers at vehicle and container as well for monitoring and hoped it would help averting such incidents, wholly.
