Cash-strapped Pakistan's prosperity, economy 'Allah ke zimme': FM

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said Pakistan is the only country founded in the name of Islam and Allah is responsible for its development and prosperity, as the cash-strapped nation faced an acute balance of payments crisis. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Green Line Express Train service here, the senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that he had full faith that Pakistan would progress because it was created in the name of Islam.

The minister was speaking on the state of the economy, when he said that Pakistan’s progress is “Allah ke zimme”, which means that the country’s prosperity is god's responsibility. The comment comes at a time when weekly inflation has surpassed 31 per cent in Pakistan, onion prices have surged by more than 500 per cent and rates on rice, pulses and wheat are up almost 50 per cent. 

“If Allah can create Pakistan then He can also protect, develop, and make it prosper” Dar said.

Facing an acute balance of payments crisis, Pakistan is desperate to secure much-needed external financing, with less than three weeks’ worth of import cover in its foreign exchange reserves, which fell $923 million to $3.68 billion.

Pak rupee falls further to a new low

Pakistan’s currency depreciated to its lowest against the US dollar on Friday in the interbank and open market and closed at Rs 262.6.

At one stage the currency depreciated to Rs 265 in the open market and Rs 266 in the interbank before making a slight recovery by the end of the day. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, on Friday the currency fell by Rs 7.17 or 2.73 per cent from Thursday’s.

The Pakistani rupee’s value has devalued by Rs 34 since Thursday in the inter bank, the largest depreciation in both absolute and percen tage terms since the new exchange rate system was introduced in 1999.