Pakistani rupee plummeted to a fresh all-time low of 171.13 against the US dollar on Wednesday, breaching a day earlier low of 171.04, mainly due to surging import bill and Afghan situation. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the rupee shed 9 more paisas (-0.05 percent) as the US dollar opened at Rs171.04 and closed at Rs171.13. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs171.20/172.50 per dollar. The rupee continued to bear the pressure despite a 17 percent year-on-year increase in remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis, which stood at $2.7 billion in September 2021, and higher exports. Moreover, the administrative measures taken by the government this week after a series of actions taken by the State Bank of Pakistan to check rupee depreciation also failed to bear fruit. The fresh all-time low of the local currency can be attributed to the latest reports of massive rise in import bill during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The import bill of the country registered a record increase of 65 percent to $18.63 billion during July–September of the current fiscal year, compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding period of the last year. The higher import bill also widened the trade deficit significantly. The trade deficit ballooned by almost 100 percent to $11.66 billion during the quarter under review, compared with the deficit of $5.81 billion in the same period of the last year. On the other hand, the Afghan situation has also been impacting the rupee-dollar parity since August 15 last.