Daily Times

The Pakistani rupee massively recovered against the US dollar in the open market during intraday trade owing to the crackdown initiated by the government against currency smugglers, hoarders and black marketers. The greenback was trading below the Rs300 mark in the open market on Monday as the local currency recovered over Rs4 in a single day. “The rupee has gained significantly in the open market in a week due to the government’s action against the smuggling of the currency in big cities,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) Head of Research Tahir Abbas while speaking to a private news channel. “This was a very important measure as our currency was continuously depreciating. It was also IMF’s [International Monetary Fund] demand to maintain a difference between the rupee-dollar exchange rate at 1.25%,” he added. He said that further correction of up to Rs10-15 is expected in the coming days. Pakistan announced a crackdown against illegal currency smugglers and hoarders following Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir’s meeting with leading business figures in Lahore and Karachi. Gen Munir assured the business community of fostering “transparency” in the dollar exchange and interbank rates.