His departure was so confidently predicted that a denial was needed from the Prime Minister’s spokesman, Naeemul Haque himself. The reason for smuggling is not so much misdeclaration as the local production of the goods smuggled in, and not at protected rates, but cheaper that the imported or smuggled goods. Mr Zaidi should be asking whether the government’s taxation structure, and its monetary policy, have created circumstances in which manufacturers will manage the kind of import substitution that will prevent smuggling. One reason this did not happen is that the PTI government so far has not seen fit to discuss this matter with businessmen, preferring to treat them the way it has the opposition. Mr Zaidi will realise that there is no further squeezing of blood from a stone.

Source: Pakistan Today July 19, 2019 15:33 UTC