WEB DESK
As Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Ishaq Dar took oath as the finance minister of Pakistan, the rupee continued to make marked improvements, gaining another Rs2.41 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
This meant that the rupee has gained around Rs8.15 in the past three days on news of Dar’s return.
On Monday, the rupee had shown the first consistent signs of recovering against the dollar as it appreciated by Rs2.63 and closed at Rs237.02 during intraday trading in the interbank market.
Subsequently, on Tuesday, the rupee appreciated by another Rs3.11 in the interbank market, improving to Rs233.91.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the value of rupee improved by another Rs2.41, going up to Rs231.50. The last time it was at t his level was on September 13.
The rupee’s recovery coincides with the return of Ishaq Dar who spent the past five years in ‘self-exile’.
On Tuesday, Dar took oath of his senate seat and on Wednesday, he took oath as finance minister before heading for his first cabinet meeting.
Dar hopes to help Pakistan return to the economic position it had reached between 2013 and 2017, when the interest rate was the lowest, the growth rate was the highest in decades, and other macroeconomic indicators, such as the stable rupee and high reserves, were also encouraging.
“We will try to arrest the economy’s downward trend and change its direction by the grace of God,” Dar said.
He reiterated that there was a politically motivated tax on not filing returns while he had never delayed filing his income tax returns.
