Message from Member Customs

It is with immense pleasure and pride that I extend my warm and sincere greetings and felicitations to the officers and staff of Pakistan Customs, on the auspicious occasion of International Customs Day. Today, we along with 176 other World Customs Organisation's (WCO) Customs administrations celebrate and honour the inaugural session of the Customs Co-operation Council, which took place on January 26, 1953.
This is an excellent opportunity to remind ourselves of Pakistan Customs' commitment to facilitating legitimate business and trade, while protecting the economic frontiers of this country against all forms of crime. Our resolve of being a dynamic, progressive, constantly evolving organisation and partner in trade must continue.
The year 2010 has been a difficult and demanding one for the country as a whole. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to note, that Pakistan Customs has risen admirably to all the challenges thrown at it. For instance, all field formations displayed remarkable agility, resourcefulness and compassion to respond when flash floods and earthquakes ravaged major parts of Pakistan. The men and women of Pakistan Customs worked round the clock, in concert with disaster management authorities, NGOs, and all others involved, ensuring that relief goods were cleared, immediately. They raised funds, distributed aid and provided medical assistance to thousands, showing the human side of Pakistan Customs as an organisation with a social conscience. We have also made significant progress in key areas like establishing Customs-Business partnerships; continuing with our modernization and reform drive; cracking down on counterfeiting and piracy to strengthen and protect intellectual property rights in Pakistan; enhancing enforcement and compliance; narcotics interdiction and anti-smuggling; capacity building and training; and further strengthening integrity and transparency in all our business processes. It has been a tremendous year for Pakistan Customs. However, much remains to be done, and it is my sincere belief that we shall be up to the task.
This year, the Secretary General of the WCO, Mr Kunio Mikuriya, has been pleased to announce that 2011 will be shaped by the theme "Knowledge, a catalyst for Customs excellence". As we step into the second decade of the 21st century, no other theme could be more pertinent. It is now up to Pakistan Customs and all other stakeholders in the Customs community to take upon themselves the responsibility of carrying the knowledge theme forward in a creative and innovative manner. In order to remain relevant in the international trade supply chain, which is a key to national, regional and global prosperity, it is necessary to enhance our knowledge base. We need to develop core competencies, acquire skills, and familiarise ourselves with international instruments, standards, tools, protocols and recommended practices to develop the type of organisational capability and a knowledge-based service culture that will enable us to respond to the challenges of running an effective and efficient Customs administration in the 21st century.
There are numerous challenges like tighter budgets, regulatory reform, resource and capacity constraints which we must overcome to meet the high expectations of citizens, businesses and government. This will not be easy, however, we must find ways and means of not only developing our knowledge, but also to share that knowledge across all levels of the organisation and through effective collaborations with our external stakeholders. Acquiring knowledge about who we are, what we do and why we do is of fundamental importance. Knowledge engenders confidence, spurs creativity and is an engine for growth.
Today is the day that we reaffirm promises made and honour what has been accomplished and make pledges for the future. It is my sincere conviction that the officers and staff of Pakistan Customs will play their part to make the knowledge theme a success for the upcoming year.