By Syed Tauqeer Zaidi
LANDI KOTAL: Foreign currency, including sizeable quantities of Indian rupees, was destroyed by Frontier Corps personnel at the Landi Kotal cantonment in an operation that officials described as part of a broader effort to curb smuggling along the Torkham border.
The move followed months of intensified vigilance in the region, where security forces had intercepted an array of contraband flowing across one of Pakistan’s busiest crossing points. According to officials, the destroyed material carried an estimated value of 358 million Pakistani rupees and weighed nearly 43 tons.
The large haul, comprising foreign currencies and other prohibited items, had been seized during a series of coordinated operations aimed at disrupting well-organized smuggling networks operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Authorities said the confiscated currency reflected not only the scale of illicit trade but also the ingenuity of traffickers attempting to exploit border vulnerabilities.
The destruction ceremony, held under strict supervision, signaled the state’s determination to prevent such contraband from re-entering circulation or enabling further criminal activity. Security officials at the event spoke of the burden smuggling placed on Pakistan’s economy, particularly at a time when the government was striving to stabilize markets and tighten regulatory controls on financial flows.
They said the seizures had helped choke off channels that were undermining lawful trade and fueling parallel markets. Local residents and traders, who had long complained about the economic distortions caused by smuggling routes through Khyber district, said the action offered a measure of reassurance that enforcement was being taken seriously.
For the security forces stationed in the rugged, high-traffic corridor, the operation was presented as both a success and a reminder of the constant pressures at the border. As the debris settled at Landi Kotal cantonment, the emphasis remained on the message officials hoped the destruction would send: that smuggling—whether of currency, goods or resources—would continue to meet firm resistance from the state.
