‘Disinformation campaign’: govt ‘categorically denies’ import of luxury cars

The government of Pakistan on Monday denied reports that it has imported “luxury cars” in the midst of a liquidity crunch that has hindered letters of credit (LCs) by importers.

“A planned and coordinated disinformation campaign is being run by certain elements regarding import of luxury cars by the federal government,” it said in a statement. “The government of Pakistan categorically denies this fake and misleading news and urges citizens to be watchful of such propaganda.”

Earlier, businessmen had slammed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government for reportedly permitting the import of “luxury BMW cars” amid an economic crisis, saying that the government’s inattention has brought the export sector to a disaster.

Govt criticised for allowing import of luxury cars

Importers are facing troubles in opening of LCs owing to shortage of dollars in the country.

Last week, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by a hefty $1.23 billion to a highly critical level of $4.34 billion. This is the lowest level of SBP’s reserves since February 2014.

On the other hand, the rupee has been under pressure and fell for the 19th successive session on Monday to close at Rs228.34 per dollar. Moreover, the spread between inter-bank and open market rates widened by a huge margin over the past few months, incentivising a push towards black market channels that is offering a ‘premium’.