Pak merchants ask govt to allow paper import from India

The All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association today demanded that the government should allow it to import paper from India to bring down prices and to end the hegemony of manufacturers.
APPMA president Mohammad Ajmal and former president Khamis Saeed Butt said paper should be placed in the list of essential items as it plays an important role in promoting education.
They demanded that imports of paper should be allowed through the Wagah land border crossing.
A huge amount of foreign exchange is being wasted on importing paper from other countries because of a ban on imports from India, they said.

The APPMA leaders said the new government would have to examine the affairs of the Federal Board of Revenue, which has been ignoring proposals from paper merchants for many years.
They said in a statement that consumers were forced to use inferior paper due to non-availability of quality paper.
At the same time, millers are causing a huge loss to the national exchequer through under-invoicing and other methods, they alleged.
Paper merchants will extend every possible help to the PML-N, which is set to form the new government, for ensuring the availability of quality paper across the country, Ajmal and Butt said.