KARACHI: The government should immediately ban trade in cash dollars to prevent depreciation in Pakistani Rupee (PKR), forex association demanded on Thursday.
Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) in a statement claimed that an amount of around $2 billion transferred to Afghanistan which was pressurizing the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan.
“The government should enforce trade with Afghanistan through banking channels,” ECAP Chairman Malik Bostan said.
The Afghan government issued a circular last month allowing exchange Pakistani currency with Afghani currency or other foreign currencies.
“There are trillions of Pakistani rupees with the Afghanis and they are exchanging with the foreign currencies,” Bostan said, adding that he already had informed authorities in Pakistan that it would put pressure on the local currency.
Furthermore, Pakistan government had an agreement of coal purchase worth $ 2 billion with the Afghan traders. Under this agreement Pakistan is importing 22,000 tons of coal worth $6 million on a daily basis.
“The Taliban government assured that Afghan traders will export coal in Pakistani rupee. But in contrast Afghan traders were demanding dollars or UAE Dirham. This is creating black marketing of dollars in the local market,” Bostan added.
He said that in a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the exchange companies were asked to sale dollars on the market rates. “Due to this restrictions, people were selling dollars in black market,” Bostan added.
He further added that due to this illegal trade the business of exchange companies drastically declined by 80 per cent since September 2022. “Prior to this, exchange companies were making transactions of about 10-15 million dollars on a daily basis. But now it reduced to only 2-4 million dollars.”
Bostan said that only one per cent people are visiting exchange companies to sell dollars and 200 per cent increase in those people who are visiting to purchase the foreign currency.
He informed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had imposed restrictions on the exchange companies that the inflows under workers remittances should be surrendered 100 per cent in the interbank market.
The exchange companies demanded that the central bank should allow sale of 50 per cent of the inward remittances to the real customers, which would ease dollar demand. “The SBP however allowed the exchange companies the sale of 20 per cent of inward remittances to customers,” Bostan said.
Besides, the exchange companies demanded the government of reducing travelling expenses limit to $5000 from existing $10,000.
