Govt imposes 'complete' ban on import of luxury items

Decision taken to deal with the country's unsettling economic condition

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government on Wednesday decided to impose a complete ban on the import of unnecessary and luxury items to deal with the country's unsettling economic woes, according to Express News.

The decision was taken during a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which the economic situation of the country was reviewed.

"Precious foreign exchange would not be spent on import of unnecessary and luxury items," the premier said.

Participants of the forum agreed to make tough decisions to deal with the depleting exchange reserves crisis and the falling rupee, which reached nearly Rs200 in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

The business community had also urged the government to immediately put curbs on the import of luxury goods as the country is heading towards economic chaos.

Read: PM confers with allies on unsettling economic woes

“Pakistan is heading towards economic crisis,” warned Employers’ Federation of Pakistan (EFP) President Ismail Suttar while talking to The Express Tribune.

Worsening balance of payments position, high inflation, depleting foreign exchange reserves and political uncertainty had led the country to an alarming economic situation, he said.

Earlier, it was also reported that the government and its allies decided to implement “tough decisions” to steer the country out of its current economic woes and ensure long-term sustainability, enabling the coalition to see through the remaining tenure of the government.

Multiple sources in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as well as its coalition partners, told The Express Tribune that the decision was taken in a meeting held at the Prime Minister House.

The meeting was chaired by PM Shehbaz and attended by heads of the coalition partners. The sources said that they finally agreed that bold decisions, even if they were unpopular, should be taken forthwith to steer the country out of the current political and economic crisis.