ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday clarified that the government had not imposed a ban on sanitary pads or diapers — or their raw materials — and that the restrictions only applied to “some luxury or non-essential goods”.

In a tweet this morning, he said that there is no ban on “any industrial raw material”. “The ban is only on some luxury or non-essential goods. And there is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods.”

The minister added that the government will issue an official clarification over the matter tomorrow (Monday).

No import ban on sanitary pads or diapers, clarifies Miftah Ismail

On May 19, the government imposed a ban on the import of non-essential luxury items under an “emergency economic plan”. The decision was announced after the dollar witnessed a meteoric rise against the rupee on account of the country’s rising import bill, growing current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

Among the more than 30 categories of banned items on the list, some concerns were raised that the raw material used for the production of sanitary napkins were also among the banned items.