Editorial

The rising dollar

While the situation is fit enough for hoarders and profiteers, the govt is not oblivious to its responsibilities

Editorial May 17, 2019

The dollar has been winging into new peaks for the past two days — in the wake of official announcement of the economic bailout agreement between the government and the IMF. Yesterday, the greenback hit an all-time high of Rs148 during intra-day trading in the interbank market before closing at Rs147.10. The day before yesterday, the American currency was valued at Rs141.5. Speculation is rife that the rupee may slide further. While the situation is fit enough for hoarders and profiteers to make quick bucks virtually overnight and they are at it too, the government is not oblivious to its responsibilities either. Quick to address the situation, Prime Minister Imran Khan has set up a committee under Dr Hafeez Shaikh, his adviser on finance, revenue and economic affairs, tasked with taking steps to control devaluation of the local currency and flight of capital from the country.

While cracking down on hoarders is a must, there are several steps that can prove effective towards controlling the current artificial rise in the value of the dollar against the rupee. As the committee formed by the Prime Minister has been advised by various relevant circles, one of the measures may be to ban the import of those items which are produced in the country as well. This single step is estimated to reduce the country’s import bill by $5 billion a year. In yet another measure that can translate into a saving of valuable foreign exchange, the maximum $10,000 limit for Pakistanis travelling abroad can be brought down. A cut to $3,000, for instance, would help the government save $2 billion a year. And as the Prime Minister has himself, many a time, pointed towards the illegal practice of money laundering costing the country dearly, proper measures must be adopted to arrest the flight of capital from the country. That there is need to act fast — and in a proper manner — goes without saying.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2019.

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