ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed them to bring strict laws against goods smuggling and hoarding, ARY NEWS reported.
“The prime minister has been focusing on efforts against hoarding for a long time and since currently the wheat rates in Pakistan are cheaper as compared to international rates, therefore there are chances of it being smuggled abroad,” he said while talking during ARY NEWS programme ‘Power Play’.
He said that the month of Ramazan is also approaching and therefore the premier has ordered them to formulate strict laws against hoarding.
“We are also bringing an ordinance to keep a check on sugar rates in the country,” Asad Umar said.
Speaking over federal government’s decision to give relaxation to construction-related industry during coronavirus lockdown, the minister said that they have taken the decisions keeping in view the economic situation of the country.
“The decisions to allow some sectors to operate during lockdown were taken with consensus,” he said adding that if the Sindh government wants to implement it in another manner it should go ahead as it has the authority to do so.
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Asad Umar said that the lockdown has affected tax collection process other than shrinking the exports sector to half during the pandemic.
The businesses in urban centres have affected badly as thousands have lost their employment, he said.
The federal minister, however, said that although the remittances have not witnessed a decline in March but it could be affected in coming days as many overseas Pakistanis have lost their jobs in Middle East and United States.
“We face an imminent threat of a financial crisis if situation continues to worsen in the last quarter of the fiscal year,” he said adding that it was due to this that the prime minister is keen to take decisions to avoid both coronavirus spread and financial crisis.
