Tag: dollars

  • Pakistan’s forex reserves fall by $73.5 million in one week

    Pakistan’s forex reserves fall by $73.5 million in one week

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a significant decline in its foreign exchange reserves for the week ending April 19, 2024, attributing the drop to external debt repayments.

    The central bank’s reserves fell by $73.5 million, a 0.91 per cent week-on-week reduction, bringing the total to $7.98 billion.

    This decrease reflects Pakistan’s ongoing struggles to maintain a stable foreign exchange reserve position amid mounting economic pressures.

    The SBP issued a statement explaining the decline, citing debt repayments as the primary reason for the dip. “During the week ended on April 19, 2024, SBP’s reserves decreased by $74 million to $7.98 billion due to external debt repayments,” the statement read.

    Concurrently, the total reserves of Pakistan, which include those held by commercial banks, also fell. The country’s total reserves dropped by $93.2 million, a 0.7 per cent week-on-week decrease, to $13.28 billion.

    Commercial banks’ reserves diminished by $19.7 million, or 0.37 per cent week-on-week, bringing their total to $5.3 billion.

    Last week, the SBP reported a slight increase in its reserves, up by $14.4 million despite a $1 billion Eurobond repayment. However, this week’s decline indicates continued pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

    In a recent development, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board is set to meet on April 29 to discuss the approval of a $1.1 billion funding tranche for Pakistan.

    This funding represents the second and final installment of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which was agreed upon last summer to avert a sovereign default.

    The current arrangement with the IMF is due to expire at the end of this month, prompting Pakistan to seek a new long-term and larger loan from the IMF.

    Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed optimism about the country’s foreign exchange reserves, stating that he expects the reserves held by the SBP to rise to around $9–10 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.

    Despite the recent decline, the total liquid foreign reserves have increased by $4.12 billion, or 44.98 per cent, since the beginning of the fiscal year.

    Additionally, the current calendar year has seen an increase of $0.61 billion, or 4.79 per cent.

    The fluctuations in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves underscore the country’s ongoing economic challenges and the critical importance of securing international funding to maintain financial stability.

  • Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday in a press conference that security officials who are involved in cross-border smuggling would be court-martialed.

    Pakistan has escalated its crackdown on smugglers involved in the transportation of goods and dollars to Afghanistan.

    “If I say that security forces weren’t involved in [smuggling], it won’t be right as the [smuggled] items are transported via trucks, not camels,” Bugti said during a press conference in Islamabad.

    He also mentioned that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has told military officials that whoever is involved in cross-border smuggling will face the consequences.

    “Pakistan’s army chief had told his people very clearly: there won’t only be court-martials, but those involved in such activities would also be sent to jail,” the interior minister mentioned.

    Bugti also told the reporters that the Army’s accountability mechanism is not disclosed to the public; that’s why the general population doesn’t know much about it.

  • Civil Aviation Authority returns lost pouch containing $9,500 to passenger

    Civil Aviation Authority returns lost pouch containing $9,500 to passenger

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has successfully recovered a missing pouch containing $9,500, equivalent to Rs2.7 million, belonging to a passenger who arrived in Islamabad from the United States.

    Anwar Aman and his family arrived in Islamabad via flight QR-632, as confirmed by a CAA official. Upon retrieving his bags from the belt in the lounge, he inadvertently left his handbag on the chair.

    At around 2:30 am, Aman left the welcome area with his belongings. However, upon returning to the airport at 3 am, he discovered that his pouch was missing. After an unsuccessful attempt to locate the pouch himself, he reported the matter to the authorities and requested that CCTV footage be checked. Unfortunately, there was no CCTV surveillance in the location where the pouch was lost.

    Subsequently, the Adviser to the Prime Minister, Aun Chaudhry, was contacted, and CAA Vigilance Assistant Rab Nawaz was instructed to investigate the matter through CCTV footage. The CAA team then proceeded to check each passenger with the help of cameras, and a particular family was suspected. As a result, data was collected from the female passenger and her other family members, and the husband of the female passenger in the UK was contacted and informed of the entire incident.

    Eventually, the CAA team was able to recover the pouch containing $9,500 from the woman. The currency, worth Rs2.7 million, was then handed over to its owner, Anwar Aman.

  • Minister gifts garland made of dollars and gold tiara to secretary on wedding

    Sindh Minister for Revenue Makhdoom Mehboub Zaman gifted a garland made of dollars and a gold tiara to his private secretary Saif Ali Shah at his wedding ceremony in Hyderabad.

    Apart from the minister, Member of National Assembly (MNA) Makhdoom Jameel uz Zaman and other officials also participated in the wedding ceremony held in Hyderabad.

    The pictures of the groom wearing the garland while sitting with the minister have gone viral on social media.

  • Bhang will bring in more dollars in Pakistan, says Shibli Faraz during the crop’s inauguration

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said that the experiment to plant bhang (edible mixture made from the buds, leaves, and flowers of the female cannabis, or marijuana, plant) has remained successful as it helps in producing medicines to deal with cancer, body pain, and other illnesses, reports ARY News.

    He shared that other than the medicine industry, the bhang plant is also used extensively in the textile and paper industries. “Medicines produced from CBD [cannabis] oil could also be exported,” he said.

    “A seed of bhang is worth US$12 in the international market and encouraging its lawful export will help in curbing its illicit trade,” Shibli Faraz said and added that bhang plantation is 10 times more fruitful than profits from the sale of drugs.

    He shared that the CBD or cannabis oil is being sold at Rs10,000 per litre in the international market. The minister said that bhang could prove to be an alternate crop for cotton and would help the country in earning foreign exchange.

    Shibli also informed that plans to establish an authority to improve bhang plantation were in process, adding that foreign investors have also shown their interest in its plantation.

    The minister further announced to improve ginger plantation in order to shun its imports.

  • Diner leaves $10,000 tip to reward employees’ services

    A man left a tip of $10,000 (Rs 1,653,433) at a restaurant in the American state of Florida to reward restaurant workers for their hard work.

    “On Tuesday night, a customer asked our entire restaurant staff to come to the dining area. He thanked them for showing up and working hard,” the restaurant stated in a social media post.
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    “Then something incredible happened. He told them he was giving them $1,000 each. Our staff couldn’t believe it,” the statement added.

    Wahoo Seafood Grill’s owner, Shawn Shepherd said, “I’m not usually an emotional guy, but this really got me. I’m blown away. We’re ALL blown away by his generosity.”
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    “The last year and a half hasn’t been easy on this industry. We’re hurting and we’re exhausted, but this incredible act of kindness has restored our faith in humanity.”

  • Gujranwala man burns his dollars to stabilise economy

    Gujranwala man burns his dollars to stabilise economy

    Following the continuous devaluation of the rupee, a resident of Gujranwala set his US dollars on fire.

    According to ARY News, Amjad burned his dollars to initiate a movement to stabilise the Pakistani rupee.

    Speaking to the media about his actions, Amjad urged masses to do the same and avoid trading in US dollars to strengthen the Pakistani rupee.

    Meanwhile, Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, in a tweet, said that purchasing dollars in this hour of economic crisis is a grave sin and disloyalty to the country.”

    He added that “those involved in hoarding are cursed by Allah,” according to some “narrations of a Hadith.”

    On Tuesday, the dollar touched a new record high of Rs153 in the open market.