Rs 12 crore cosmetics and dry dates of Pak-origin seized at Nhava Sheva port; 2 held
Mumbai, Sep 14 (PTI): The DRI has seized 28 containers carrying cosmetics and dry dates of Pakistani origin and valued at about Rs 12 crore at the Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai and arrested two persons in this connection, officials said.
The consignments were procured by three Indian importers in blatant violation of prohibitions imposed by the government on the import of Pakistani-origin goods, the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Saturday.
A Dubai-based Indian national, operating on a commission basis, facilitated the transhipment of dry dates from Pakistan by issuing fabricated invoices. He allegedly used his firms to disguise the sea transport trail.
The containers were routed through the Jebel Ali port in Dubai by misdeclaring them as of the UAE origin, the officials said.
Under ‘Operation Deep Manifest’, India's top anti-smuggling unit seized 28 containers loaded with 800 tonnes of cosmetics and dry dates of Pakistani origin, an official said.
The goods were sent through a complex web of transactions involving Pakistani, Indian and UAE nationals, to obscure their true origin.
Money was also routed from India to Pakistan through him, the official said, adding the supplier has been arrested.
A Customs broker has also been arrested for facilitating the smuggling of cosmetics from Pakistan by falsely declaring the country of origin, he said.
In the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 persons, the Centre on May 2 imposed a complete ban on direct or indirect import of Pakistani-origin goods.
The DRI subsequently launched an operation to seize goods imported from the neighbouring country in violation of the ban.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
