KARACHI: Pakistani rupee held ground against the US dollar in the interbank trade on Tuesday and rose by one paisa. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs284.97 in the interbank market and closed at Rs284.96. However, in the open market, the rupee was traded at 281/286 against 290/295 per dollar a session earlier. The rupee closed at 281.42 in the open market. During the current fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistani rupee has lost Rs79.09 against the US dollar in the interbank, while it plummeted by Rs58.53 against the greenback in the current year. According to the market experts, a slight appreciation of rupee was witnessed after investors received positive cues from the international community. The government signed a debt service suspension agreement with the Republic of Korea amounting to the deferment of payment of loans worth $19.911 million, under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework. Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G-20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of Pakistan. The total amount of debt, that is to be suspended under the DSSI framework, covering the period of repayment from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3,686 million. Pakistan has already concluded and signed 104 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the deferment of its debt repayments under the G-20 DSSI, amounting to $3,633mn. Pakistan’s outstanding external debt and liabilities have increased to Rs73 trillion during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2022-23, according to the central bank. TLTP
