Pakistan, July 2 -- ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is losing Rs400 billion every year due to the illegal cigarette trade, warned Fair Trade in Tobacco (FTT) Chairman Ameen Virk during a seminar in Islamabad. He described the issue as a "structural crisis", not just minor tax leakage, and urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to maintain pressure on violators through sustained action and long-term enforcement reforms.

Virk said that while recent raids and seizures by FBR, Customs Intelligence, and Inland Revenue were encouraging, they must not remain isolated events. He emphasized that illegal cigarette manufacturers are operating openly, selling products without health warnings, at illegal prices, and without using the government's Track and Tr...