KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) denied social media posts that claimed large withdrawals were taking place from Roshan Digital Accounts, following the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister.
“The SBP rebuts fake news on social media about large withdrawals from Roshan Digital Account (RDA) and slowdown in inflows,” it tweeted on Monday. “So far in April, inflows are very strong at around $86 million and there are no abnormal outflows. Total inflows have now surpassed $4 billion.”
The clarification comes in response to a flurry of posts on social media claiming that overseas Pakistanis – a big part of Khan’s vote-bank – are now hurt at his ouster as prime minister, and withdrawing their investments through RDAs.
Similar chants were raised at a protest rally organised by overseas Pakistanis at Hyde Park, London.
“No Imran, No remittances,” Imran Khan’s supporters chanted, saying that “they don’t want their hard-earned money to end up in accounts of corrupt looters.”
Data on inflows under RDA is usually reported by the SBP at the start of each month. In April, the central bank reported that RDAs, a banking solution for Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), has fetched inflows amounting to $3.9 billion by the end of March 2022, with over two-thirds of the amount being invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPC).
RDA is an initiative of the SBP, in partnership with major banks, to facilitate NRPs for banking services in Pakistan. The initiative has been given importance due to its nature of attracting foreign exchange inflow for the country’s economy that sees twin deficits through its trade and current accounts, putting pressure on the currency.
