<\/p>\n
Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday said prize money would be given to citizens who provided information on smuggling, hoarding and illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the interior minister said: \u201cWe are announcing prize money for those people \u2026 who become our informants and tell us where smuggling and hoarding, [including] of dollars, is happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also setting prize money for [information] on illegal immigrants and the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) is leading that [initiative].\u201d<\/p>\n
Bugti added that a toll-free number would be set up at the FIA and interior ministry on which any Pakistani could call to help the government.<\/p>\n
He said the government had achieved considerable success against in curbing the smuggling of various items, including the US dollar.<\/p>\n
However, he said because of the success, the culprits had resorted to hoarding and artificially setting prices of items such as wheat and sugar, adding that a crackdown was under way on them as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire cabinet and government has decided that all of our institutions and provincial governments will go to the extreme against these evils of smuggling and hoarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bugti said a \u201czero-tolerance\u201d policy would be adopted against all hoarders and smugglers, adding that the culprits would be sent to jail, prosecuted, sent to courts and sentenced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is shameful that these people are living amongst us and doing these things to the people of our country only,\u201d he stated, adding that even stricter punishments would be meted out to those members of his ministry who were involved in such activities.<\/p>\n