The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Syed Murtuza to not let the rupee depreciate any more and infact to take measures and ensure that rupee regains its true value based on the price of gold and the rate of the US Dollar in international market according to which the parity rate works out to Rs 175 to a dollar.
The SBP may fix the rate at Rs 175 to a US dollar to stabilize the economy facing uncertainty as importers and exporters are both not in a position to anticipate the cost of landed goods or the invoice value for exports.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said what the country is witnessing is speculation of money exchange companies and the investors who are benefitting by making dollar a sort of parallel currency by parking all their undisclosed money in dollars. Secondly he said Afghanistan traders are buying dollars from Pakistan open market and creating shortage.
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Thaver said the Pakistan economy cannot bear anymore the burden of Afghanistan which has been carrying on its activities of imports through Pakistan and indulging in full time trading via Pakistan in the name of transit trade.
The UNISAME Council (UC) experts said we welcome genuine trade with Afghanistan and the facility of transit trade for Afghanistan as Afghanistan exports and imports are routed through Pakistan but Afghani traders must not take advantage of this facility and arrange for its requirements of foreign currency through its own sources and procure the required dollars from international markets as per its own parity rates of Afghanistan rupees against the dollar. They can buy from UAE or Singapore open markets.
UC experts have also urged the government to tighten the foreign exchange dealers and warn them strictly to follow the rules and regulations and not indulge in arranging dollars for the money launderers and speculators and cancel their license if found guilty of this malpractice.
In fact, it would be wise to handover this exchange business to commercial banks who already have a full-fledged business of foreign currencies and if given this task they will be happy to widen their network at airports and trade centers, business plazas, and malls