KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee hit an all-time on Monday against the United States dollar to close at Rs170.79, amid rising imports and the flow of the greenback to Afghanistan.
The rupee lost 31 paisas or 0.19 percent of its value in the interbank market. But the Pakistani currency appreciated by Rs0.30 in the open market, where the dollar was trading at Rs172.30 for selling and Rs172 for buying.
Currency dealers attribute the slight fall of the greenback in the open market to a government’s crackdown against illegal currency exchangers.
“Government has taken action against illegal currency operators which has appreciated the value of Pakistani rupee in open market,” Zafar Paracha, Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan general secretary, told Arab News.
“However, in the presence of prevailing sentiment that the dollar is appreciating will only be cooled when the currency in the interbank market will appreciate against dollar because the open market takes cue from the interbank [market] and only action against illegal operators will not produce desire results.”
Analysts say the Pakistani currency is under pressure due to an increasing import bill and the flow of dollars to Afghanistan.
“Pakistani currency is under pressure due to increasing imports and shortage of dollars in Afghanistan is also adding pressure to the Pak rupee,” Samiullah Tariq, a research director at the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News.
Pakistan on Monday also released foreign trade data, which showed the country’s imports during the first quarter (July-September) increased by 65 percent on a quarterly basis as compared to the first quarter of the last fiscal year.
The trade deficit stood at $11.66 billion during the first quarter, which is 101 percent higher than $5.8billion in the same period last year.
Pakistan’s exports during the first quarter increased by 27.32 percent to $6.96 billion, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
“This (exports) has been due to hard work of our exporters & they deserve praise for this accomplishment,” Abdul Razak Dawood, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide on commerce, said in a statement issued by the Pakistani commerce ministry.
Analysts say the import bill is increasing mainly due to the increasing prices of commodities in the international market.
“The prices of petroleum products, palm oil and other essential commodities have surged in the international market which is reflected in import bill,” Tariq said.
The business community is concerned over increasing prices of imported commodities and the rising trend in imports.
“The rupee has substantially depreciated which has made imports costlier, but this has not arrested the flow of imports yet,” Mian Zahid Hussain, the National Business Group of Pakistan chairman, said.
But Tariq believed the demand of elastic imports would subdue in the coming days, when people start avoiding expensive imported goods.
Pakistani rupee continues plunge to hit new all-time low against the greenback
https://arab.news/zkbnn
Pakistani rupee continues plunge to hit new all-time low against the greenback
- Analysts say Pakistani currency under pressure due to increasing import bill, flow of dollars to Afghanistan
- But rupee appreciated by Rs0.30 in open market with dollar trading at Rs172.30 for selling, Rs172 for buying
Pakistan turns to immersive technology to reimagine ancient Gandhara
- New gallery uses artificial intelligence and 3D visuals to present Buddhist heritage
- Visitors can explore archaeological sites digitally rather than through static displays
ISLAMABAD: At the Islamabad Museum, history no longer sits quietly behind glass.
In September 2025, the museum introduced Pakistan’s first Digital Immersive Gallery, an experiment in how ancient civilizations can be narrated in the age of artificial intelligence, 3D projection and virtual environments. Developed in collaboration with the Korea Heritage Agency, Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology and the National Heritage and Culture Division, the gallery marks a shift from object-centered displays to experience-based storytelling.
Rather than beginning with labels and timelines, the gallery opens with movement, sound and light. Visitors are invited to step into a reconstructed visual world shaped around Gandhara, one of South Asia’s most influential yet often under-explained civilizations that developed across what is now northwestern Pakistan and parts of eastern Afghanistan and later played a foundational role in the spread of Buddhism beyond the subcontinent.
“We have shown here in our Immersive Gallery how Buddhism flourished here, how it was introduced, how it declined and how it shifted to China, Korea and Japan from here,” Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, Deputy Director at the Department of Archaeology and Museums, told Arab News.
“In order to make it, the content developed by Korea has fully used AI and IT,” he continued. “AI and IT are common in Korea and other developed countries, but we have done it for the first time in Pakistan.”
Gandhara flourished between the first century BCE and the fifth century CE in this region, which served as a cultural crossroads, shaped by Greek, Central Asian, Persian and South Asian influences.
It was here that artists first began depicting the Buddha in human form, a visual language that later traveled along trade routes to Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. This transmission of ideas, beliefs and artistic styles forms the core narrative of the immersive gallery.
“Inside the gallery, visitors are drawn into a world of interactive experiences, heritage documentaries they can zoom in and out of, Gandhara artifacts explored up close and photo zones where they can capture themselves against Pakistan’s most iconic sites,” Muhammad Azeem, Project Director at the Department of Archaeology and Museums, said.
While Gandhara anchors the gallery, the experience expands outward to place it within a longer and wider historical arc. One section is dedicated to Pakistan’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, offering visitors a compressed journey across centuries and regions.
“The main hall takes it further with a fully immersive 3D journey,” Azeem added. “Each seven-minute segment transports audiences to treasures like Mohenjo-Daro, Makli Necropolis, Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens and Sheesh Mahal, and the historic landscapes of Taxila and Takht-i-Bahi, making the past feel vivid, unforgettable and alive.”
For many visitors, the gallery’s appeal lies in how it lowers the barrier to understanding. Instead of long explanatory panels, history is introduced through visuals, motion and guided narrative.
“I saw different historical sites on big screens which was very exciting for me,” Fatima Nawaz, a government employee, said. “After that, I watched a complete documentary in the gallery, which was about 20 minutes long, and in which different historical sites related to Gandhara were highlighted.”
“Overall, it was a very good experience,” she added.
Researchers see the initiative as part of a broader global shift in how museums function.
“My topic is Cultural Heritage Museum, and with this research, I am studying and visiting museums,” Abdul Khaliq, an M.Phil. student at Quaid-e-Azam University, said. “One thing I have not seen in Pakistan before is the shift toward virtual reality.”
He added that it was a good step while calling the immersive gallery “very educational and gives us a lot to learn.”
For the officials involved in the project, the gallery is a starting point rather than a finished model.
“The response we have received from the public in Islamabad makes me feel that this should be done in all the museums, in all four provinces of Pakistan,” Dr. Ghafoor, the senior archaeology department official, said. “This is because it can make it easier to follow history.”
“I think such immersive galleries should be there in all the museums,” he added.
