ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday rejected rumours that the government was considering a move to take over the dollars held with the commercial banks amid depleting foreign exchange reserves.
The rumours about confiscation of the dollars started emerging after the finance czar said that the total foreign exchange reserves held by Pakistan stood at $10 billion and not $4 billion as $6 billion held by commercial banks also belong to the country.
Taking to Twitter, Dar clarified that national foreign exchange reserves always include forex held with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and commercial banks.
“Recently I quoted the forex reserves figure based on this principle. Some vested elements who ruined this country’s economy in the past, gave it a deliberate twist and started a campaign as if Govt was considering an access to foreign exchange held with Commercial Banks which indeed is the property of the citizens,” he wrote.
The finance chief categorically denied the claims and clarified that “there is no such move under consideration of the Govt”. He asked people to ignore such “misconstrued, misinterpreted and malafide” propaganda.
Ishaq Dar said Pakistan was moving towards improvement and its forex reserves would strengthen in the near future.