The Team of ‘The Inquirer’ discovered the most precious 17 Gems of Corruption in Pakistan Customs?

For months, hundreds of high-duty containers, particularly of acetate tow, were cleared through Pakistan Customs on the basis of alleged misdeclaration, not as isolated errors but as a repeated and systematic operation, with claims that each container caused revenue losses running into billions and involved facilitation payments allegedly reaching around one crore rupees per container, resulting in staggering cumulative losses while no comprehensive audit, public disclosure, or credible explanation was ever offered and no senior official was held to account.

Despite persistent references to senior figures such as Jameel Nasir Khan, Nayyer Shafiq, and even the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, no inquiry was initiated, reinforcing the perception that accountability stops when responsibility moves upward, while junior officers face swift consequences.

The launch of the Faceless Customs Assessment System in December 2024, marketed as a revolutionary reform to eliminate discretion and corruption, instead coincided with internal audits and media reports alleging tens of billions lost through under-invoicing of luxury vehicles, clearance of restricted goods without NOCs, misuse of the green channel, and trade-based money laundering, including through solar panels, turning a system meant to block corruption into an alleged shield for it. Jameel Nasir Khan, operating from Karachi through the Central Appraisement Unit, emerged as the central figure in this structure, and following the exposure of the acetate tow scandal, he was not punished but quietly shifted to another powerful posting, while officers whispered that the next large-scale facilitation was already being prepared.

Nearly one thousand containers of solar panels reportedly remained stuck at Karachi ports, legally requiring pre-shipment inspection, certificates of conformance, test reports, and PSQCA approvals under the Import Policy Order, yet whistleblowers alleged that Shahzad Langrial, brother of the sitting FBR Chairman, stepped in as a fixer promising one-time relaxation of IPO conditions in the name of national interest and port decongestion at an alleged rate of five lakh rupees per container, potentially generating tens of crores in illicit payments, while a known bidder, Naeem Shaikh, was allegedly positioned to acquire these containers at auction far below market value.

If true, these claims suggested that statutory protections could be erased by a single decision and public assets converted into private windfalls overnight. Jameel Nasir Khan, once portrayed as the intellectual face of reform and a prolific writer, was repeatedly accused of running protection networks, manipulating data, misleading top leadership, outsourcing his published work, and acting as a propagandist rather than a reformer, with colleagues describing him as manipulative and shallow.

His past postings were cited repeatedly, including the Faisalabad rebate scam of 2008 involving bogus rebate cheques issued to fake or closed firms, where allegations claimed cash was collected in cricket bags and followed by the acquisition of extensive properties, plots, bungalows, and agricultural land beyond known sources of income.

During his tenure at Customs Collectorate Port Muhammad Bin Qasim, he was accused of enabling liquor clearances using fake or misused embassy documents, manipulating the green channel for favored mafias, and causing major revenue losses, while protecting scrap, clothing, fabric, and garment syndicates that allegedly continued operating even under FCAS, some of which were later exposed by Facilitation Mechanism Team Lead Yaqoob Mako. In the acetate tow case alone, allegations cited the clearance of dozens of containers through FCAS with losses exceeding tens of billions, kickbacks allegedly amounting to several crores per container, and the arrest and confession of his alleged frontman Imran Aslam Gull Pathan, who was subsequently portrayed as a scapegoat while Khan remained protected by the Chairman.

When the Directorate of Post Clearance Audit exposed these issues, Khan allegedly responded with media spin, discrediting PCA, branding whistleblowers as saboteurs, suspending or transferring officers, and presenting selective statistics such as claimed forty-seven percent growth figures without context on cargo volumes, duty rate changes, or GD counts.

He was also accused of boasting about controlling the FBR Chairman, claiming to have influenced inquiries involving the Chairman’s family, thereby securing immunity, and of drawing even the Prime Minister into publicly endorsing FCAS as a success story, making rollback politically difficult. Officers such as Sheeraz Ahmed who questioned FCAS were suspended, appraisers worked under punitive conditions, and yet Khan remained untouchable, allegedly shielded by a so-called Lahori Group, while further allegations circulated that he paid hundreds of millions to secure the release of brothers convicted of murder, raising questions about unexplained wealth.

Additional claims stated that despite severe allegations, no inquiry was ever initiated, that his alleged frontman Imran Aslam Gull continued serving as a principal appraiser in the car group earning per-vehicle facilitation money, and that key postings placed Nayyer Shafiq as Collector SAPT, Naveed Illahi as Chief Collector Lahore, and Jameel Nasir himself as Chief Collector North. Khan was further accused of maintaining close ties with clearing agents such as Naveed Yamin, allegedly facilitating illegal wine and alcohol imports under diplomatic cover, protecting these operations during his tenure, and benefiting personally, while Karachi ports were described as having become the safest route for smuggling through internal “lines” operated from within Customs.

 Senior businessmen reportedly raised concerns about FCAS at the highest levels, including before the COAS, who acknowledged problems, yet no action followed, reinforcing perceptions that Khan’s control over data, narrative, postings, and the assessment apparatus nationwide made him more powerful than the institutions meant to oversee him.

As he reportedly eyes Grade-21 promotion and international assignments, the cumulative effect of allegations—ranging from misdeclaration, green channel abuse, protection of syndicates, retaliation against whistleblowers, manipulation of reform narratives, and political entanglement—has left accountability in Pakistan Customs appearing illusory, with repeated calls that only an independent inquiry, regardless of outcome, can establish the truth and determine the real cost Pakistan has paid for unchecked power concentrated in one individual.