Govt mulls importing food items from India.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday once again said that the government could consider importing food items from India to mitigate the fallout of the devastating floods.

The minister, in a tweet, said the government has been approached by more than one international agency to allow them to bring food items from India through the international border. He furthered the government will make a formal announcement to allow imports or not based on the supply shortage position. He also added the decision would be made after consultation with coalition partners and other key stakeholders. This is the second time in a week that Ismail has hinted towards import from India. "We can consider importing vegetables from India. Turkey and Iran could also be other options," the minister had said earlier.

While saying that importing vegetables through the border with India was also under consideration, he stated that opening duty-free imports was a possibility as it would make it easier. "We normally...