Islamabad, Pakistan, August 26, 2026: Fair Trade in Tobacco (FTT) has called upon the Government of Pakistan to firmly reject all political and lobbying pressure from the illegal cigarette mafia and to continue enforcement actions across the country to protect national revenue, strengthen lawful business, and restore fairness in the cigarette sector.
Muhammad Amin, Chairman of Fair Trade in Tobacco, said the results from fiscal year 2025-26 clearly show that enforcement works. He noted that the legal cigarette industry alone paid Rs. 314 billion into the national exchequer during FY 2025-26, demonstrating that the documented and tax-compliant segment of the market remains a major pillar of public revenue when it is given a fair operating environment.
“The message is now beyond dispute: when the state acts against illegal cigarette manufacturing, smuggling, tax evasion, and the sale of unstamped products, revenue rises, and the legal industry performs better,” said Muhammad Ameen. “The government must not retreat under any political, commercial, or organized lobbying pressure from those who profit from illegality.”
He said the illegal cigarette mafia continues to inflict enormous damage on Pakistan’s economy by evading taxes, undermining compliant businesses, and capturing market share through unfair and unlawful practices. According to FTT’s assessment, the illegal cigarette trade steals over Rs. 400 billion in taxes annually. It deprives the country of much-needed financial resources that could otherwise fund public services, development spending, and fiscal stability.
“The illegal cigarette mafia is not just a market problem. It is a direct attack on Pakistan’s tax base,” he said. “It distorts competition, weakens investor confidence, rewards non-compliance, and creates a parallel economy fueled by cash, evasion, and influence.”
FTT said the gains made in FY 2025-26 were achieved because the government and the Federal Board of Revenue sustained pressure on illegal operators, particularly through action against unstamped cigarette packs, enforcement at key supply-chain points, and measures to curb non-duty-paid production and distribution. These steps helped create fairer market conditions and enabled the legal cigarette industry to contribute more robustly to revenue collection.
Muhammad Ameen said this progress must now be deepened, not diluted. He warned that any relaxation in enforcement would quickly allow the illegal cigarette mafia to recover lost ground and once again expand its hold over the market.
“Constant enforcement can add hundreds of billions of rupees more to cigarette-sector revenue,” he said. “Pakistan’s real revenue opportunity does not lie in repeatedly increasing the burden on those who already pay taxes. It lies in dismantling illegal operations and bringing the untaxed sector into the tax net.”
FTT urged the federal government, FBR, provincial administrations, and law-enforcement agencies to intensify coordinated action against illegal cigarette factories, smugglers, transporters, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and all facilitators involved in the black market. It also called for tighter monitoring of manufacturing zones, stricter checks on unstamped products, stronger action at Green Leaf Threshing Unit levels, and uninterrupted enforcement in major high-risk districts.
The organization further emphasized that policymaking in the cigarette sector must be based on market realities and national economic interests. It said Pakistan cannot afford to let organized illegal trade shape outcomes through pressure, influence, or misinformation.
“The government must stand with lawful business, tax compliance, and national revenue,” Muhammad Ameen said. “The illegal cigarette mafia has stolen enough. The time has come to end political accommodation, defeat lobbying pressure, and continue relentless enforcement until the market is brought under the rule of law.”