ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the authorities to take measures to “root out” corruption at checkpoints along two key highways linking the port city of Karachi with the border with Afghanistan.
In a memo dated September 4, Khan’s office said that he has been informed by unidentified sources about “rampant rent seeking from goods transport” by members of state agencies and entities including police, customs, coast guard, and paramilitary forces.
It can be “safely presumed” that the money extorted from transporters and traders along the Karachi-Torkham and Karachi-Chaman highways “is shared with upper hierarchy at different levels,” the memo said.
As a result, Khan ordered respective entities to revise and develop operating procedures, reduce the number of checkpoints where possible, and convert those located nearby to be converted into “multi-agency” posts.
The 1,820-kilometer Karachi-Torkham highway is a major north–south artery in Pakistan that extends from Sindh Province's capital to the border town of Torkham in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Karachi-Chaman highway stretches more than 800 kilometers, passing through Quetta in the southwestern province of Balochistan and the border town of Chaman.
Most of the trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan goes through these two routes.
Khan Wants To 'Root Out' Corruption Along Pakistani Highways
Editors' Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
NATO Chief Rutte Tells RFE: 'Thoughtful Dialogue' Needed On Ukraine
2Ukraine's Long-Distance Drones Take Toll On Russia's Oil Business -- And War Chest
3Brawl Exposes Growing Anti-Chinese Sentiment In Kyrgyzstan
4Iran Seizes Foreign Oil Tanker With 18 Crew Members
5Protests Erupt In Bulgaria Over Budget, Government 'Corruption'
6Brussels Adds New Names To Blacklist In Latest Russia Sanctions Package
7Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Hungarian Service Ceases Operations
8Tehran Pollution Hits 'Alarming' Level In Latest Environmental Crisis
9They Called Him 'Dr. Evil': The Russian Prison Medic Accused Of Torturing Ukrainian POWs
10Russia Plans To Restrict International Phone Calls Amid Digital Crackdown
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.