Businessmen urge central bank for steps to support rupee

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been urged to take immediate measures for supporting the local currency, a statement said.

Faisal Moiz Khan, president of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) in a statement on Wednesday expressed concerns over the massive depreciation in the rupee value.

He urged the federal government, especially State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir to adopt effective strategies to curb the dollar leaps so that the local economy can be protected from its effects and inflation can be controlled.

Khan said that the rate of the dollar has increased from Rs110 to more than Rs167 during the last three years, and as a result, the prices of daily necessities are increasing with each passing day.

The NKATI chief termed the increase in the dollar rate a direct tax and said the taxes were already plentiful and now the rise in the value of the dollar is proving to be a new tax for the people and traders.

The high prices of everyday items sold in the market today are due to the rise in the value of the dollar, which resulted in the greatest burden on the people.

“The dollar had appreciated 15 per cent against the rupee in just one month, which was a dangerous sign, as the purchasing power of the people had already responded. Therefore, when the purchasing power of the people is gone, they will not come to markets and the business community will not be able to do business and inflation will rise also,” he added.

Faisal Moiz Khan requested the federal government and SBP Governor Reza Baqir to take steps to control fluctuations in the dollar value and said that the federal government should review their spending and adopt an effective policy so that the dollar rate remains under control and the value of the rupee does not decrease.

The NKATI president said if the government does not rein in the dollar, there will be a storm of inflation in the country and it will have a very negative impact on the economy.