Addressing an award distribution ceremony of the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce, the prime minister said he considered stepping back for fears of strikes by the traders and the business community amount to disloyalty with the country. “If anyone believed that I will take a step back after the countrywide strikes … I will do no such thing,” the prime minister declared. “We have to bring everyone into the tax net because only 1.5 million of the 220 million people pay taxes. In 2013, the prime minister said, the then minister had admitted huge corruption in the FBR but it was now being reformed. “We are in talks to stop smuggling from Afghanistan,” he noted, adding that the industry could not progress without putting a stop to smuggling.

Source: The Express Tribune July 17, 2019 18:45 UTC