The government of Pakistan have shut down 2,500 illegal petrol pumps as part of the anti-smuggling drive.
The officials said that the government carried out the operation in response to petroleum smuggling and the unauthorised movement of fuel.
The development was announced at a weekly meeting on reforms at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.
Officials told the meeting that modern technology had been used to identify illegal petrol stations. Legal action has also been taken against their operators.
The government is introducing a number of digital measures to improve monitoring of petroleum products and prevent illegal fuel movement.
All legally operating petrol pumps are being tagged using geographic information system (GIS) technology, while GPS tracking is being introduced for petroleum shipments.
Oil marketing companies are also being linked to the tracking system through their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
A central tracking application has been developed for law enforcement agencies to monitor fuel shipments and identify suspicious movements.
Authorities are also working on digital monitoring of petroleum sales as part of efforts to strengthen controls across the fuel supply chain.
PM Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to step up action against petroleum smuggling and illegal businesses.
He also called for faster implementation of FBR reforms aimed at improving tax collection and strengthening enforcement.
The government says the measures are intended to reduce fuel smuggling, improve monitoring of petroleum products and increase transparency across the country’s fuel supply chain.
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