Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has asked the Shehbaz Sharif government to act against the "menace" of foreign currency smuggling in the cash-strapped country.
The demand came just a day after Pakistan's forex reserves fell below the $3 billion mark, the lowest in nine years.
Claiming that Pakistan lost "$40 million" per day due to the illegal movement of foreign money, Justice Bandial said: "We need to take organized measures against the menace."
Waning off fears that Pakistan isn't heading toward bankruptcy, the top judge added that, "Everyone needs to improve themselves for the sake of the country."
Pakistan allegedly loses $5 million per day in smuggling to its neighboring country Afghanistan, with the illegal outflow of foreign currency becoming a lucrative business after the Taliban* stormed to power in Kabul in August 2021, according to Muhammad Zafar Paracha, the general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.
"Currency is being smuggled without any doubt," Paracha said in a conversation with a media outlet last week. "This has become quite a lucrative business."
Since the US and its allies blocked $9 billion worth of Afghanistan's central funds, the Taliban has reportedly become dependent on illicit dollars coming into the war-ravaged country.
Afghanistan reportedly meets half of its requirement of $10 to $15 million per day from illegal money from Pakistan.
The chief justice's demand came on a day when Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that Pakistan has agreed to the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled $7 billion financial package, crucial to staving off a sovereign default. Pakistan is set to receive $1.12 billion from the global lender almost immediately as part of the deal.
*under UN sanctions over terrorist activities