ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched an operation against dollar hoarding and currency speculation trade, information minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday, in a bid to stabilize the exchange rate which has lost about 25 percent of its value over the past year.
The announcement came just hours after finance minister Asad Umar ruled out a further devaluation of the rupee, urging people to invest in the stock market and not waste money buying dollars.
“Government has directed FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] to launch a full fledged operation against Dollar hoarding, and speculative currency trade,” the information minister said in a Twitter post. “The operation is being launched in coordination with State Bank and Ministry of Finance.”
The FIA is empowered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act to initiate action against illegal money changers and export of the dollars through illegal means.
“We have to wait for the government’s instruction for the crackdown against dollar hoarding,” Abid Qamar, a spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan, told Arab News, declining further comment.
Pakistan’s consumer price inflation rose in March to its highest since November 2013, adding to economic headwinds besetting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
Inflation rose to 9.41 percent year-on-year, up from 8.21 percent in February, lifted by sharp rises in food, fuel and transport costs that have squeezed household budgets.
Last month, the central bank lifted its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.75 percent, citing continuing inflationary pressures as well as high fiscal and current account deficits.
Consumer price inflation has also jumped sharply over the past year, climbing from under 4 percent at the start of 2018.
Energy costs in particular have risen sharply, hit by a series of devaluations of the rupee, and the government on Sunday announced a 6 rupee rise in petrol prices to 98.88 rupees a liter.
Traditionally, Pakistan has kept its exchange rate over-valued, incurring losses to the economy, the finance minister said. The rupee should be aligned with its fundamentals and its benchmark should be the real effective exchange rate (REER), finance minister Umar said on Friday.
He added that there were no demands for what the exchange rate should be in the talks with the IMF.
Zafar Paracha, general-secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, said the crackdown against dollar hoarding would not help bring down the exchange rate unless the government controlled it in the interbank market.
“The government should first amend the foreign exchange regulation act to set a certain limit on the amount of foreign currency or rupees that one can keep at home,” he told Arab News.
He said the FIA crackdown against illegal money changers, “who have been enticing people to buy dollars” may be effective for some time but that is not a permanent solution to deal with it.
The Forex Association of Pakistan on Friday urged all exchange companies in the country to sell the US dollar to only “authentic customers who need the dollar genuinely” including people going abroad for medical treatment, education and pilgrimage.
“If people stop buying the dollar for a few days, its exchange rate will come down automatically,” Malik Bostan, president Forex Association of Pakistan, told Arab News.
“The dollar is currently appreciating due to the gap in supply and demand … the supply of the dollar at the moment is four to five million dollars daily against the demand of seven to eight million dollars,” he said, “The government should focus on addressing this gap instead of creating further panic in the market through crackdown.”
Pakistan launches operation against dollar hoarding to stabilize exchange rate
Pakistan launches operation against dollar hoarding to stabilize exchange rate
- Operation aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate which has lost about 25 percent of its value over the past year
- State bank and finance ministry will jointly coordinate the crackdown
Pakistan, UK launch £10 million higher education partnership
- Pak-UK Education Gateway second phase expands climate research, scholarships, university exchanges
- First phase was launched in 2018 and delivered 165 partnerships, 2,000 joint studies and £5 million in grants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the British Council have launched the £10 million second phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway, the HEC said on Monday, a joint initiative aimed at deepening collaboration between universities in both countries on research, mobility and higher-education reform.
The program, funded equally by the HEC and the British Council, builds on a partnership launched in 2018 and seeks to strengthen institutional ties between Pakistani and British universities, focusing on shared challenges including climate change, skills development and economic growth.
Education cooperation has become an increasingly important pillar of broader Pakistan-UK relations, as both countries look to expand academic mobility, research collaboration and international recognition of qualifications at a time when higher-education systems face pressure to respond to climate risks, labor-market shifts and funding constraints.
“This £10 million partnership is set to deepen collaboration between UK and Pakistani universities on critical issues like Climate Change and Mobility. A true system-to-system commitment,” the HEC said in an X post.
According to the British Council and HEC, the first phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway supported 165 institutional partnerships, generated around 2,000 joint research papers and awarded £5 million in research grants. Officials say the second phase aims to build on that foundation as part of a longer-term effort to internationalize Pakistan’s higher-education sector.
“Education is the building block of growth and prosperity. Our work on education in Pakistan supports people throughout their lives: from helping reform education policy at the school level, to our strong partnership in higher education,” British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said in a statement.
“This next phase builds on our already strong relationship, and will unlock opportunities to help both our higher education sectors thrive.”
Opportunities under the second phase include increased funding for scholarships, joint research grants and faculty exchanges, alongside a Start-Up Challenge Fund to support Pakistan-UK university collaborations pursuing commercial opportunities and access to new markets.
The program will also focus on leadership and governance reforms within Pakistan’s higher-education system, including quality assurance, improved campus accessibility for people with disabilities, and greater participation of women in senior leadership roles. It further aims to expand opportunities for Pakistani students to study UK-accredited courses without leaving their home cities, alongside a commitment to mutual recognition of qualifications.
Pakistan’s Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the initiative had already delivered concrete results since its launch in 2018, calling education “the bridge that connects people, cultures, and futures.”
Acting HEC Chairperson Nadeem Mahbub described the Gateway as a system-to-system partnership rather than a stand-alone program, noting that it had benefited institutions and students in both countries.
