ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday said that US dollars and wheat were being smuggled from Pakistan, adding that action would be taken to prevent the smuggling.

“A crackdown has been initiated since Friday, the results of which will be revealed soon,” the finance czar said addressing a press conference along with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other members of the cabinet in Islamabad.

He said the official rate of the dollar was around Rs. 224, but due to smuggling there was a difference of 13 to 18 rupees in the “grey market”.

Giving an overview of the economic situation, he said the government prioritized the state over politics, despite limited resources. He apprised that the floods devastated the country and affected millions who were provided timely relief by the government.

The finance minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government “destroyed the country’s economy” during its tenure as “Imran Niazi did not honour commitments made to the international financial institutions”.

He said fake news was being spread about the “bankruptcy” of the country by “Imran Niazi”, who caused the country’s economy to “sink” by laying “mines”. But, he added, in reality, there was absolutely no chance of it.

Dar said the current coalition government had taken important decisions for the improvement of the economy.

The finance minister said today that where Pakistan was standing, it was all due to the bad policies of the PTI government.

Imran Khan tried to “prove Pakistan as a corrupt nation; inflation peaked during PTI era and the rupee depreciated”, he contended.