AGL 40.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.02%)
AIRLINK 187.98 Increased By ▲ 9.91 (5.57%)
BOP 10.12 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.61%)
CNERGY 7.11 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.45%)
DCL 10.15 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.59%)
DFML 41.57 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
DGKC 107.91 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (0.95%)
FCCL 39.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.08%)
FFBL 82.02 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.16%)
FFL 14.90 Increased By ▲ 1.20 (8.76%)
HUBC 119.46 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (0.18%)
HUMNL 14.05 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.36%)
KEL 6.40 Increased By ▲ 0.49 (8.29%)
KOSM 8.07 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
MLCF 49.47 Increased By ▲ 1.37 (2.85%)
NBP 73.66 Increased By ▲ 0.83 (1.14%)
OGDC 204.85 Increased By ▲ 11.09 (5.72%)
PAEL 33.56 Increased By ▲ 1.41 (4.39%)
PIBTL 8.07 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.62%)
PPL 185.41 Increased By ▲ 11.34 (6.51%)
PRL 33.61 Increased By ▲ 1.01 (3.1%)
PTC 27.39 Increased By ▲ 2.12 (8.39%)
SEARL 119.82 Decreased By ▼ -5.14 (-4.11%)
TELE 9.69 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (2.87%)
TOMCL 35.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.25%)
TPLP 12.25 Increased By ▲ 0.63 (5.42%)
TREET 20.26 Increased By ▲ 1.84 (9.99%)
TRG 60.78 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (0.48%)
UNITY 37.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.58%)
WTL 1.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.6%)
BR100 11,772 Increased By 249.2 (2.16%)
BR30 36,584 Increased By 1034.2 (2.91%)
KSE100 110,810 Increased By 1913.6 (1.76%)
KSE30 34,429 Increased By 620.5 (1.84%)

ISLAMABAD: A minister has caused a storm in a teacup by urging citizens to cut back on drinking “chai” as a way to preserve foreign currency that pays to import the leaves used in brewing the popular beverage.

Pakistan is the world’s biggest importer of tea — known locally as “chai” — with the latest government figures showing it pays over $515 million a year to bring in the commodity, mostly from Kenya.

The country is suffering a long-brewing economic crisis, however, with dwindling foreign reserves used to pay crippling debt.

“I would also appeal to the nation to cut down one or two cups of tea because the tea we import is also imported on credit,” Ahsan Iqbal, minister for planning and development, said Tuesday.

Pakistanis drink tea in many forms — black, green, hot, cold, sweet, salted and spiced — but the most popular is made by brewing the leaves in boiled sweetened milk.

Iqbal’s comments prompted outrage Wednesday on social media and in tea rooms across the country.

“Why should we reduce the use of tea... we drink at our own expense, we don’t drink with government money,” said Jan Muhammad, 45, a truck driver who says he drinks between 15 to 20 cups a day.

“When you drive and you can’t see the road... then there is a risk of an accident. That’s why 20 cups are compulsory,” he told AFP.

At a tea stall in Islamabad’s Aabpara market, baker Muhammad Ibrahim said he drank 12 cups every day.

“I take three, four cups in the morning, then three in the afternoon and three, four late night,” he said. “This is my addiction.”

At the same restaurant, Tanveer Iqbal agreed that people should cut down — even as he and his four children sipped piping hot cups of the drink.

Comments

Comments are closed.