Revenue increased to Rs54b after halt to cell phone smuggling, PM told

ISLAMABAD: After the mobile phone smuggling from Pakistan was brought to zero, the revenue had increased from Rs. 22 billion to 54 billion, Prime Minister Imran Khan was informed during a meeting on implementation of Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy, chaired by him Friday.

Minister for Industrial Production Hammad Azhar, Trade Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Finance Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Advisor on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Dr Waqar Masood, Chairman BOI Atif Bukhari, Chairman FBR Javed Ghani, Chairman PTA Major Retired Amir Azeem Bajwa and other senior officials were also present in the meeting. A briefing was given regarding implementation of Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy by the Ministry of Industrial Production. The meeting was informed that Pakistan is a huge market in terms of mobile phones with about 40 million mobiles purchased annually in the country.

The meeting was further informed that after the implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), cell phone smuggling in the country had come to an end and the revenue increased from Rs 22 billion to Rs 54 billion. It was also informed that after implementation of this system, many international companies were interested in manufacturing cell phones locally in Pakistan. On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that our aim is to increase industrial production in the country. He directed that obstacles to foreign investment and industrialization should be removed and all possible facilities should be ensured. “Development in the industrial sector would increase the country's income and provide better employment opportunities to the people,” he said.