ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Frontiers Lt-Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch said that Afghan refugees were running their businesses in the country without the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or any other department’s registration at provincial level.
Replying to a question in the National Assembly, he said that according to a survey, conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during 2010-2011 about the Afghan Population Profiling, Verification and Response (PPVR) and their economic activities in the country, 44,076 Afghan nationals had invested considerable amounts of money in their business over the years.
On the occasion, Minister for Commerce Eng Khurram Dastgir Khan said that Russia had lifted ban on import of Pakistani agricultural products including oranges from February 24. He informed the House that the Russian agro-industry slapped a ban on the import of all Pakistani agricultural products on September 30, 2013 but the issue had been resolved now. Dastagir said that Pakistan had exported about 1,209.1 metric tonnes of oranges during July-December 2013-2014.