On May 19, the alliance government placed a ban on the imports of luxury items. That long list of luxury items also included cars and mobile phones. Now, the government had announced to lift import ban on luxury items but still imposed a complete ban on the import of 30 categories including automobiles and smartphones.
Reason
The government asserts that car and cell phone imports have contributed enormously to Pakistan’s rising import bills. The authorities said that the vast majority of the banned items have little impact on the foreign exchange reserves.
Thoughts
Ban on smartphone imports is not that bad because local mobile phone production in Pakistan is already at its top. However, the auto sector of the country is suffering. As we know about the huge price hikes by major car companies like Kia & Hyundai and the halt of production by Toyota for a specific duration.