“There is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods. We will issue further official clarification on Monday,” he said while replying to a tweet on Sunday.

In order to steer the economy out of the crisis, the government on May 19 imposed a ban on the import of 38 non-essential luxury items under the austerity measures. The decision will save the country’s precious foreign exchange, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

However, the country’s finance czar has since then been clarifying the government’s decision. On Saturday, he said chocolates’ import was not banned and they were targeting “private people” or professionals locally called khepias (professional mules), who bring a large number of chocolates or perfumes on several visits to foreign countries.

The federal government revoked its decision on the import ban of pet food and energy savers, read a notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Saturday.