The continuing appreciation of rupee against the greenback over the past week has rekindled hopes among the people amid a back-breaking inflation in Pakistan that the rising cost of living would be at least contained, if not brought down, to benefit the poor, who are striving to survive without means in the face of a multitude of problems.
The improving trend in the economic health of the country became visible at the fag end of the six-month tenure of federal finance minister Miftah Ismail, who had to face a barrage of difficulties to arrest the spiraling prices and the worst smear campaign from former economic managers of the country for his failure to stabilize the rupee against the dollar.
The greenback fell against the rupee in the last week of September as the country’s finance wizard, Ishaq Dar, decided to end his nearly five-year self-imposed exile and started packing to return to the country to shoulder a rackety economy. The rupee’s value against the dollar hovered around US dollar 245 in the middle of September. It is the fourth time that 72-year-old Ishaq Dar has been entrusted the finance ministry to find remedy for the economic ills of the country.
The dollar fall was followed by further appreciation of the rupee no sooner did Ishaq Dar assume responsibility of the most important portfolio. And the trend continued into the past week, which saw the rupee rising against the dollar, the latter exchanged for Rs 227 in the open market by the start of the current week and this trend continues, triggering renewed activity on the bullion market.
The rupee gains come at a time when the country is struggling to cope with the devastation of flash floods and millions of people have been living under the open sky. As a harsh winter is staring them in the face, the government is facing a daunting task to provide food and shelter to the affected people and protect them from diseases.
It is needless to mention that the rise and fall of rupee directly reflect on the country’s economic health and its foreign debt burden, it also directly impacts the poor and middle classes of the society.
In his remarks soon after taking oath of office as the finance minister, Ishaq Dar spelled out his priorities. His remarks “will control inflation” and “we will bring interest rates down” rejuvenated the dying hopes of rupee rise in the near future.
With the appreciation of rupee both the open and the interbank market, the people have pinned hopes on the new finance manager of the country to fix the fault lines and ensure that the benefits of the appreciation in the value of rupee trickle down to reach the lower strata of the society.
