No import ban on sanitary pads or diapers, clarifies Miftah Ismail

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday clarified that the government had not imposed an import ban on sanitary pads or diapers, adding that the restrictions were only limited to "some luxury or non-essential goods".

In a tweet, he said that there is no ban on "any industrial raw material."

"The ban is only on some luxury or non-essential goods. And there is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods," he wrote.

The minister added that the government will issue an official clarification over the matter tomorrow (Monday).

Meanwhile, the government on Saturday clarified that SRO 598, which pertains to the ban on the import of luxury items, was not applicable to the inward shipments of energy savers and some preparation material used in animal feed.

However, the Ministry of Commerce said that ban on the import of dog and cat food for retail purposes remained in place.

In a clarification, the Ministry of Commerce also stated that the SRO 598(1)/2022 shall not apply to the import of goods. According to it, the import of energy savers (PCT code: 9405.1090) had been exempted from the prohibition.

Energy savers allowed, but imported cat and dog food for retail remains banned

Moreover, it also green-lighted the reversal of the import ban on the material used in the preparation of animal feed. The SRO was issued to address concerns of the citizenry and certain anomalies arising out of its implementation.

“It is shared for information and immediate compliance,” it said.

On May 19, the Ministry of Commerce banned the import of 38 items to control a bulging import bill and support the appreciation of the local currency.

According to the list, the ban was imposed on the import of mobile phones CBU, home appliances, cosmetics, crockery, pet food, private weapons and ammunition, shoes, chandeliers and lighting, headphones, loudspeakers, and others.

After the announcement of the policy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif defended his government's decision by saying that the move to "ban the import of luxury items will save the country precious foreign exchange."

"We will practice austerity & financially stronger people must lead in this effort so that the less privileged among us do not have to bear this burden inflicted on them by the PTI govt," he wrote on Twitter.