The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Pakistani government lifted a ban on the import of non-essential and luxury products imposed earlier in May, according to the country's Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

The decision was taken in the wake of imports substantially reduced due to the government's efforts at a former meeting of the ECC, the ministry said in a statement.

However, the restrictions on the import of completely built-up automobiles, mobile phones, and home appliances will remain in place, the statement said.

On May 19, the government imposed a ban on the imports of more than three dozen non-essential and luxury items as part of an emergency economic plan to stabilize the depleting foreign exchange reserves and rising import bill.

Due to the decision, the overall imports of the banned items have shrunk by over 69 percent from 399.4 million U.S. dollars to 123.9 million U.S. dollars, according to the finance ministry.