Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that the government could consider importing food items from India to mitigate the fallout of the devastating floods.
The finance minister, in a tweet, has said that the government was approached by more than one international agency to allow them to bring food items from India through the land border.
He further stated that the government would make a formal announcement to allow imports based on the supply shortage position after consultation with coalition partners and other key stakeholders.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while speaking to international media personnel, had ruled out the possibility of importing goods from India saying that the two sides need to talk on human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
This is the second time in a week that Ismail has hinted towards import from India.
“We can consider importing vegetables from India. Turkey and Iran could also be other options,” the finance minister had said earlier.
The finance minister said as the prices of vegetables had risen considerably due to shortage caused by floods, he had devised a plan during a meeting with the commerce and finance secretaries and would take it to the prime minister in a day or two.
According to media report, Ministry of Commerce has decided to import onions and tomatoes from Afghanistan and Iran to control soaring prices.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has said that it would not allow the government to use flood emergency as an opportunity of open trade with India. Fawad Chaudhry, in a tweet, stated that the Indian PM Narendra Modi was not only anti-Muslim but was also against humanitarian values.
