ISLAMABAD, Jun 2 (APP): Minister of State for Petroleum Senator Musadik Malik on Thursday said that the government was providing subsidy on food items which would be expanded further to provide relief to the masses.
Talking to a private news channel, he said the government had taken effective measures to curb the trade deficit and imposed ban on the import of luxury items.
He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in their tenure had cause the trade deficit to surge from $27 billion to $ 35.5 billion which was unprecedented.
Stressing the need for the pace of exports to rise while facilitating indigenous production to curb imports, the state minister added that the government policy was to boost exports and support the local industry in this regard.
He also clarified that there was no documentary evidence in the petroleum division about “Russian offer for cheap oil” as claimed by the PTI aides.
.jpg)
