Allegations of steel industry against scrap importers rejected

ISLAMABAD: President of the Scrap Importers Association, Haji Muhammad Ayoob, along with other office-bearers, has strongly rejected the allegations of steel industry levelled against scrap importers bringing material from Iran via land routes, terming them “baseless, fabricated and a conspiracy against the rerolling industry.”

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Scrap Importers Association urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the judiciary, NAB and FIA to take notice of what they described as malicious campaigns aimed at undermining legal land-route trade from Balochistan through misinformation and vested interests.

They demanded a forensic or international-level audit of the “big players” to expose alleged under-invoicing, corruption and tax evasion in the steel sector so that legitimate land-based trade is not harmed.

The association said the steel industry had launched false propaganda against scrap imports through land routes, following which the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Quetta detained 38 scrap-laden vehicles in Nokundi, Dalbandin, Nushki and Bolan for detailed checking. After complete inspection, re-weighing and verification, the consignments were found to be correctly declared and were released, exposing industry’s misinformation and exaggeration,” they added.

However, traders suffered losses worth millions of rupees due to unnecessary unloading, re-loading, demurrage and detention charges, they said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025