ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti has said that thousands of metric tons of wheat, sugar, urea, and petroleum products have been recovered as a result of successful anti-smuggling and anti-hoarding drive by the government.

Giving detail at a joint news conference with Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi here in Islamabad on Monday, he said around 22,200 metric tons of wheat, 8,8000 metric tons sugar, 4,300 metric tons urea, and petroleum products worth 10,195 metric tons have so far been recovered during the last one month.

Regarding the anti-narcotics drive, the Interior Minister said 43 metric tons of drugs were seized with the registration of 200 cases. He said the conviction rate in these cases is more than 80 percent, while rehabilitation centers are also being established to cure addicted people.

Talking about success in the drive against the smuggling of dollars and illegal money exchange, Sarfaraz Bugti said 168 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged with a recovery of 658 million rupees.

Answering a question, the Interior Minister said the Army Chief has given very clear instructions to his men that if any of them is found involved in smuggling he will not only be court-martialed but also be sent to jail.

He said the government has intensified its crackdown on smugglers involved in transporting commodities and dollars to Afghanistan, especially in the last few months when havoc was wreaked on the already weakening economy.

He said the crackdown bore fruit as speculation diminished and the rupee recovered sharply against the greenback to become the best-performing currency globally, but analysts fear another round of depreciation as they are sceptical about the long-term effects of administrative measures.