Pakistan Bans Import of Non-Essential Goods to Save Foreign Exchange

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, May 19 (Bernama) -- The Pakistan government has banned the import of "non-essential" items in a bid to save foreign exchange as the national currency has sharply fallen against the US dollar in recent days. One American dollar on Thursday bought 200 Pakistani rupees compared with about 182 a month ago. "My decision to ban import of luxury items will save the country precious foreign exchange," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. Goods on the import ban list include automobiles, mobile phones, home appliances, crockery, travelling bags, shampoos, toiletries, frozen meat, cigarettes, makeup products, and musical instruments. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said there was an "emergency situation" and Pakistanis would have to reduce their dependence on imports. She said the trade deficit in Pakistan had reached a serious level. "We have the capacity and experience to fix the current economic issues. The step taken to ban imported items is aimed at stabilising the economy," Marriyum said in a press conference, Thursday. She said the import ban on non-essential items would save Pakistan US$6 billion a year and boost domestic manufacturing industries. -- BERNAMA