ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Asad Umar has responded over the issue ofsudden rise in Us dollar.
He said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) sets the currency rate.
Defending the decision, he shifted the blame onto the PML-N, saying thedevaluation was imminent due to the flawed policies of the previous rulingregime.
He added that the devaluation was necessary because of a number of reasons,including increased foreign loans, decreased foreign exchange reserves, lowexports and artificial cap on the value of dollar.
“Rupee value cannot be controlled forever. Even during the PML-N’s tenure,the value of rupee against dollar had reduced by Rs28,” he said.
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“We artificially increased the value of rupee by purchasing dollars. As aresult, we started importing vegetables and we were unable to exportsurplus sugar and wheat without providing subsidiary,” he said.
“The issue of dollar is associated with supply and demand,” he said, addingthat the former government subsided foreign traders and taxed the locals.”The gap between supply and demand of dollar will remain until we addressthe issue of production and foreign investment.”
