BAN ON LUXURY IMPORTED ITEMS IN PAKISTAN
The Government of Pakistan has banned the import of luxury items in the country and has released a list of imported items that would be seized before entering the country. The list of the banned items in Pakistan is alarming for the elites. The Pakistan Government has taken a serious step as an emergency due to the rising inflation rate and the instability in the economy.
The ban on luxury items in Pakistan came into effect just after the formation of the new government in Pakistan which took serious measures to secure the foreign reserves of the state. The newly formed government blames Prime Minister Imran Khan of PTI for the bad economic policies that lead the country to an economic disaster. But it is still unclear what is the main reason behind the rising economic instability.
According to the senior economists, the main reason that the state is the war between Russia and Ukraine. The war between the two countries has created immense instability in the region whether it is in terms of economy or peace. Ukraine has extensive reserves of Silicone or Silica, Platinum, Gold, Iron, Lithium, and other heavy minerals which are exported to the countries like China for the production of Solar Panels, GPUs, CPUs, Silicone Chips or Integrated circuits, Lithium-Ion Batteries, Mobile Phones, Armor vehicles, auto vehicles, heavy machinery and other equipment’s.
The unending war between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in the halt in the export of these major minerals and equipment and China has no more raw material to produce other items. The shortage in the raw material has resulted in a high upsurge in the prices of the items and the cost of the items has been increased more than 6 times their original cost.
Similarly, Sri Lanka is also facing a very intense economic fall that led it to the selling of its all foreign reserves. Of course, the bad economic planning and ban on the usage o chemical fertilizers resulted in the decrease in tea production and other Agri based products that were major exports of Sri Lanka. Corona's Pandemic in 2019 also damaged the tourism industry of Sri Lanka. Today, Sri Lanka is facing its worst times ever in its history and the falling government is seeking foreign aid to run the country. Currently, Sri Lanka has a budget deficit of $54 billion.
Pakistan is not alone in the affected countries due to the war, but the country is willing to seek aid from international funding agencies like IMF so that it could relieve its mob from the high inflation. Several talks are being held with the gulf states for the provision of the special relief package and other subsidies for foreign investments in the country. As far as the dollar is concerned, the rupee has weakened monthly with high curves. Today, the rate of the US dollar is equal to 202.32 Pakistani rupees.
The Pakistani Premier has announced the list of banned luxury items in the Year 2022:
- Mobile Phones
- Home Appliances
- Fruits and Dry Fruits (except Afghanistan)
- Crockery
- Private Weapons & Ammunition
- Shoes
- Chandeliers & Lighting (except Energy Savers)
- Headphones & Loudspeakers
- Sauces, Ketchup, etc.
- Doors and Window Frames
- Travelling Bags and Suitcases
- Sanitary ware
- Fish & Frozen Fish
- Carpets (except Afghanistan)
- Preserved Fruits
- Tissue Paper
- Furniture
- Shampoos
- Automobiles
- Confectionary
- Luxury mattresses & sleeping bags
- Jams & Jelly
- Cornflakes
- Bathroom ware / Toiletries
- Heaters / Blowers
- Sunglasses
- Kitchenware
- Aerated water
- Frozen Meat
- Juices
- Pasta etc.
- Ice cream
- Cigarettes
- Shaving Goods
- Luxury Leather Apparel
- Musical Instruments
- Saloon items like hairdryers etc.
- Chocolates
Annually, Pakistan imports luxury items worth billions of rupees including auto vehicles and expensive SUVs. The annual import of the items and unnecessary pet food that were also locally produced has caused an increase in the import bill. The continuous imbalance in the import and export of the goods has destabilized the economy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
We as Pakistani must think over this that what we are consuming and why we are not going for the consumption of the locally made products. We must think over that why we are purchasing the unnecessary imported stuff even if it was available in the local market. Even if, we say that imported items are of premium then why should not we produce them locally? Before purchasing the LEVIS’s branded denim pants we never look that it’s the material that is made originally from the Pakistani cotton. Yes, we are not giving the real value to the items that we are producing but other countries make the value-added goods from our raw material and then resell it to us.