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  • Notification issued to raise 10% in pension

    Notification issued to raise 10% in pension

    ISLAMABAD: The Finance Division has issued a notification to implement the decision of the government to raise 10 per cent increase in pension to pensioners of the federal government.

    Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has sanctioned an increase of 10 per cent of net pension with effect from April 01, 2022 until further orders to all civil pensioners of the federal government including civilians paid from defence estimates as well as retired armed forces personnel and civil armed forces personnel.

    READ MORE: SBP’s instructions on pensioners biometric verification

    The finance division explained that for the purpose of admissibility of increase in pension sanctioned the term ‘Net Pension’ as pension being drawn minus medical allowance.

    The increase will also be admissible on family pension granted under the pension-cum-gratuity scheme, 1954, Liberalized Pension Rules, 1977, on pension sanctioned under the Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules as well as on the Compassionate Allowance under CSR-353.

    READ MORE: EOBI to launch self assessment scheme for employers

    The finance division said that if the gross pension sanctioned by the federal government is shared with any government in accordance with the rules laid down in Part-IV of Appendix-III to the Accounts Code, Volume-I, the amount of the increase in pension will be apportioned between the federal government and the other government concerned on proportionate basis.

    READ MORE: Mandatory biometric verification restored for pensioners

    “The increase in pension sanctioned will not be admissible on special additional pension allowed in lieu of pre-retirement orderly allowance and monetized value of a driver or an orderly,” it said.

    The benefit of increase in pension sanctioned will also be admissible to those civil pensioners of the federal government who are residing abroad (other than those residing in India and Bangladesh) who retired on or after August 15, 1947 and are not entitled to, or are not in receipt of pension increase under the British Government’s Pension (increase) Acts.

    The payment will be made at the applicable rate of exchange, it said.

    READ MORE: Pensioners living abroad require presenting life certificate

  • New government keeps petroleum prices unchanged

    New government keeps petroleum prices unchanged

    ISLAMABAD: The new government – formed by leading political parties – on Friday decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for next fortnight.

    The previous PTI government had decided to freeze the price of petrol at Rs150 per liter till June 30, 2022.

    Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) proposal to hike prices of petroleum products in the country.

    READ MORE: Pakistan cuts petroleum prices amid Russia-Ukraine War

    It was announced by the Prime Minister while addressing an Iftar Dinner at Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Friday tonight.

    The previous government on February 28, 2022 decided to reduce the prices of petroleum products despite the high international oil prices in the wake of Russia-Ukraine war.

    The finance division had issued the notification to cut the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs10 per liter each from March 01, 2022.

    READ MORE: Pakistan raises petrol price to record high at Rs160/liter

    According to a statement issued by the finance division, the global prices of petroleum products are tracking the Ukraine-Russia war and resultantly surged to $100 per barrel. “The unprecedented increase is very risky for the domestic fuel prices and inflation,” it added.

    The situation leaves very few options for the government, it said, adding that prior to review on February 28, 2022, the government had left more than Rs70 billion per month to keep the prices lower and providing relief to the masses.

    READ MORE; Petroleum prices kept unchanged for next fortnight

    In the fortnightly review on February 28, 2022, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) recommended Rs10 per liter increase in the prices of petroleum products.

    According to the statement the new prices of the petroleum products effective from March 01, 2022 are:

    The price of petrol slashed by Rs10 to Rs149.86 per liter from Rs159.86.

    The rate of high speed diesel has been reduced by Rs10 to Rs144.15 per liter from Rs154.15.

    The price of kerosene oil has been brought down by Re1 to Rs125.56 per liter from Rs126.56.

    Similarly, the rate of light diesel oil has been slashed by Rs5.66 to Rs118.31 per liter from Rs123.97.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s petrol price rises to record high at Rs147.83

    While retaining the prices at current level, Shahbaz Sharif said the government will bear burden of increase in prices of petroleum products itself instead of shifting it to the masses.

    He said that the Prime Minister Office will now be working as Pakistan House where officers from across the country will serve.

    The prime minister said consultation is underway over formation of federal cabinet and it will soon be fianlized.

  • FBR announces prize winners of 4th POS invoice draw

    FBR announces prize winners of 4th POS invoice draw

    ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday conducted fourth draw of invoices issued through Point of Sales (POS) and announced prize winners.

    According to the computerized balloting, the bumper prize of Rs1,000,000 has been awarded to Muhammad Ali on the invoice issued by Carefour.

    READ MORE: FBR announces winners of third POS invoice draw

    The FBR announced winners of two second prizes of Rs500,000 each to Syed Tahir Ali Rizvi on the invoice issued by Shan Super Market and Hussain Raza Bhatti on the invoice issued by Jalal Sons.

    Similarly, the four winners of third prize amounting Rs250,000 each are Abdul Waheed Shaikh, Mishal Zohaib, Sher Allam Khan and Mansoor Mehmood.

    The FBR conduct computerized balloting of invoices issued by Tier-1 retailers on every 15th day of a month. This was fourth draw as it was started in January 15, 2022.

    READ MORE: FBR announces prize winners in second POS invoice balloting

    The FBR encouraged people to actively participate in the balloting to win prizes after buying from POS integrated retailers.

    The FBR previously issued a procedure for participating in the prize scheme.

    The revenue body said that the customers of the integrated tier-1 retailers, whose names and CNICs are notified through random computerized draw shall be entitled to prizes in respect of their purchases from the integrated tier-1 retailers.

    READ MORE: FBR announces winners of first POS prize draw

    The customers shall verify the electronically generated invoice of integrated retailers either through the “tax asaan” application or by sending SMS to number 9966.

    The application shall notify the customer regarding the status of the invoice either as “verified” or “unverified”.

    In case of a verified invoice, the customer shall furnish one time, the following detail to the online system, namely:- Name; CNIC; and Mobile number.

    Names and CNICs of the customers shall be included in the random computerized draw upon fulfillment of the requirement.

    READ MORE: Prize scheme on invoices issued by retailers

    In case of an unverified invoice, the customer shall report the same through the system. The Board shall conduct inquiry and take appropriate action under the relevant provisions of law.

    The computerized draw for the prizes shall be held in the first week of every month at the FBR Headquarters and the invoices of the immediately preceding month shall be entered in the draw.

    Draw winners shall be required to perform biometric verification, at the nearest e-sahulat facility of NADRA and submit a scanned copy on the “tax assan” application. After successful biometric verification, winners shall be required to provide their IBAN through a “tax asaan” application.

    The total prize money and the denomination of the prizes shall be decided on month to month basis by the Board.

  • E-banking transactions up 23% in Jul-Dec: SBP

    E-banking transactions up 23% in Jul-Dec: SBP

    KARACHI: The e-banking based transactions have increased by 23 per cent to Rs33.38 trillion during the quarters of October – December 202 as compared with Rs27.19 trillion in the previous quarter (July – September 2021), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Friday.

    The SBP issued quarterly report stating that the volume of e-banking recorded 10.7 per cent to 400 million transactions as compared with previous quarter of 361.6 million.

    READ MORE: Banks approve Rs180 bn for low-cost housing loans

    E-banking includes transactions conducted via electronic channels including real-time online Branches, ATMs, mobile banking, internet banking, call center banking, POS and e-Commerce.

    It would be pertinent to note that the growth in e-banking transactions is much steeper relative to paper based transactions, albeit the value of transactions is higher in the case of later.

    The volume and value of paper based transactions increased by 3.4 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively.

    READ MORE: Banks approve housing loans worth Rs7.4 billion in event

    While the volume of e-banking transactions is almost four times higher at 400 million than paper based transactions at 101.4 million, the value of transactions of the former stands at Rs33.4 trillion compared with Rs41.6 trillion paper based transactions.

    All around growth in e-banking included expansion in both mobile and internet banking with a double-digit increase in value and volume of transactions during the second quarter. The number of mobile banking transactions amounted to 94 million, while the value reached Rs2.2 trillion, which comes to 18.8 per cent and 35.4 per cent growth respectively on QoQ basis. Meanwhile, number of mobile banking users grew by 5 per cent on QoQ basis, reaching a total of 11.9 million users. The internet banking users reached 6.9 million, conducting 33.8 million transactions, amounting to Rs2.4 trillion, which translate to a strong 13.9 per cent progress in terms of volume and 28 per cent increase in the value of these transactions compared to preceding quarter.

    READ MORE: Financing for Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar gains momentum

    Retail sector also continued its upswing in adoption of digital payments. During the quarter, a total of 31.4 million transactions amounting to Rs178.1 billion were processed via 92,153 Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals. This shows an impressive double-digit QoQ growth of 11.8 per cent by volume and 32.1 per cent by value. Similarly, the number of e-Commerce merchants also increased by 32.6 per cent reaching a total of 3,968. Onboarding of QR merchants largely added to this growth. These merchants processed 13.6 million transactions worth Rs26.7 billion, showing QoQ growth of 7.2 per cent by volume and 19.8 per cent by value.

    READ MORE: State Bank amends regulations for housing loans

    As of end-December 2022, there were 5.4 per cent more cards than the preceding quarter, reaching 48.6 million cards in circulation which mainly comprised of Debit Cards (63.5 per cent), Social Welfare Cards (22.8 per cent), ATM only Cards (9.9 per cent), Credit Cards (3.6 per cent), and Prepaid Cards (0.3 per cent). During this quarter, paper based transactions showed relatively slower growth of 3.4 per cent in volume and 12.2 per cent in value on QoQ basis. In Large-value (wholesale) payments segment, SBP’s Real-time Inter-Bank Settlement Mechanism (PRISM) processed a total of 1.1 million transactions amounting to Rs161.3 trillion, showing QoQ growth of 5.9 per cent in volume and 1.4 per cent in value.

  • Dollar retreats for 6th straight day; falls to Rs181.58

    Dollar retreats for 6th straight day; falls to Rs181.58

    KARACHI: The US dollar retreated against Pakistan Rupee (PKR) for the sixth straight day on Friday since the central bank aggressively increased the key policy rate on April 07, 2022.

    The exchange rate ended at Rs181.58 to the dollar on Friday as compared with previous day’s closing of Rs181.69 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee up 13 paisas to continue recovery against dollar

    The local currency has made sharp recovery against the dollar since the significant raise was announced in the policy rate on April 07, 2022.

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced an unprecedented increase in policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 per cent. The massive rise in interest rate surprised the market and trade and industry are in state of shock. The massive hike in policy rate also resulted in a sudden decline in demand for dollar.

    This is the reason behind five consecutive gain in rupee value during past five trading sessions.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues recovery to dollar for 4th straight day

    The rupee hit all-time low of Rs188.18 to the dollar on April 07, 2022. Since then the rupee recovered Rs6.60 against the dollar during past six straight trading sessions.

    The SBP noted that the recent developments necessitated a strong and proactive policy response.

    Accordingly, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided at its emergency meeting today, to raise the policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 percent.

    READ MORE: Rupee makes recovery to dollar for third straight day

    This increases forward-looking real interest rates (defined as the policy rate less expected inflation) to mildly positive territory. The MPC was of the view that this action would help to safeguard external and price stability.

    The MPC also noted that SBP is in the process of taking further actions to reduce pressures on inflation and the current account, namely an increase in the interest rate on the export refinance scheme (EFS) and widening the set of import items subject to cash margin requirements. These items are mostly finished goods including luxury items and exclude raw materials.

    The announcement of these measures is expected soon and will complement the action taken by the MPC on interest rates.

    READ MORE: Rupee recovers sharply; dollar eases to Rs182.93

  • Pakistan’s forex reserves deplete to $17.03 billion

    Pakistan’s forex reserves deplete to $17.03 billion

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves fell by $447 million to $17.03 billion by week ended April 08, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $17.477 billion a week ago i.e. April 01, 2022.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves shrink to $17.48 bn

    The official reserves of the State Bank fell by $469 million to $10.85 billion by week ended April 08, 2022 as compared with $11.32 billion a week ago. The SBP attributed the decline in foreign exchange reserves to external debt repayments.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks however increased by $20 million to $6.178 billion by week ended April 08, 2022 as compared with $6.158 billion a week ago.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s weekly forex reserves deplete by $2.88 billion

  • Banks approve Rs180 bn for low-cost housing loans

    Banks approve Rs180 bn for low-cost housing loans

    KARACHI: Banks have approved Rs180 billion as loan for low cost housing, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The SBP said building upon current momentum, banks have shown strong progress in approving and disbursing the financing under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme against the manifold increase in applications by borrowers to avail housing finance.

    READ MORE: Banks approve housing loans worth Rs7.4 billion in event

    Up to April 11, 2022, banks received applications for housing finance amounting to Rs409 billion, which was merely Rs57 billion a year ago, reflecting an increase of more than 7 times. Out of these, banks have approved applications amounting to Rs180 billion and disbursed Rs66 billion against the approved applications.

    This shows an increase in approvals of applications of more than 11 times as, a year ago, in April 2021, the banks had approved only Rs16 billion.

    READ MORE: Financing for Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar gains momentum

    Similar trends can also be observed in the overall financing to the housing and construction sector by banks. Banks almost doubled their housing and construction finance portfolio to Rs404 billion as of March 31, 2022 from Rs204 billion a year earlier. In increasing their housing and construction finance, banks have also achieved, almost 100 per cent, the first quarter target of Rs405 billion for 2022.

    To improve provision of financing for the housing and construction sector to increase adequate housing in the country and boost construction sector activities, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) with the support of Government of Pakistan has taken several measures since July 2020. In October 2020, the Government of Pakistan augmented these efforts by introducing the Government Markup Subsidy Scheme, now commonly known as Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) Scheme. Available in both conventional and Islamic mode, this scheme enables banks to provide financing for the construction and purchase of houses at very low financing rates for low to middle income segments of the population.

    READ MORE: State Bank amends regulations for housing loans

    Key initiatives taken under MPMG scheme included allowing acceptance of third party guarantee during the construction period, waiver of Debt Burden Ratio (DBR) in case of informal income and the introduction of standard facility offer letter by the banks. SBP also advised banks to develop and deploy income estimation models for borrowers with informal sources of income. In addition to gauge readiness, knowledge and appropriateness of behavior of banking staff towards customers, regular mystery shopping of banking branches were also conducted by State Bank all over the country.

    The current progress under MPMG is also attributed to banks’ improved preparedness for handling housing finance that includes alignment of banks’ strategic focus, continued improvements in their systems and procedures, training and capacity building of staff, extensive marketing and leverage of technology to reach out to customers. These improvements have helped banks in better handling of financing requests of potential customers. The huge influx of applications and subsequent approvals of financing by banks under the Scheme indicates that current momentum of disbursements under MPMG will continue in the coming months as well.

    housing finance
    STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN

    SBP also advised housing and construction finance targets to banks on July 15, 2020. Banks were required to increase their housing and construction finance portfolio to 5 percent of their domestic private sector advances by the end of 2021. As a result, banks’ financing to housing and construction sector increased to Rs367 billion as of December 31, 2021 from Rs148 billion as of June 30, 2020. For 2022, banks have been advised to increase their housing and construction portfolio to 7 percent of their domestic private sector advances i.e. up to Rs560 billion.

  • Rupee up 13 paisas to continue recovery against dollar

    Rupee up 13 paisas to continue recovery against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pakistan Rupee (PKR) strengthened by 13 paisas against the dollar on Thursday to continued its recovery against the greenback for fifth straight day.

    The rupee ended Rs181.69 paisas to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs181.82 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee continues recovery to dollar for 4th straight day

    The local currency has made sharp recovery against the dollar since the significant raise was announced in the policy rate on April 07, 2022.

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced an unprecedented increase in policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 per cent. The massive rise in interest rate surprised the market and trade and industry are in state of shock. The massive hike in policy rate also resulted in a sudden decline in demand for dollar.

    READ MORE: Rupee makes recovery to dollar for third straight day

    This is the reason behind five consecutive gain in rupee value during past five trading sessions.

    The rupee hit all-time low of Rs188.18 to the dollar on April 07, 2022. Since then the rupee recovered Rs6.49 against the dollar during past five straight trading sessions.

    The SBP noted that the recent developments necessitated a strong and proactive policy response.

    Accordingly, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided at its emergency meeting today, to raise the policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 percent.

    READ MORE: Rupee recovers sharply; dollar eases to Rs182.93

    This increases forward-looking real interest rates (defined as the policy rate less expected inflation) to mildly positive territory. The MPC was of the view that this action would help to safeguard external and price stability.

    The MPC also noted that SBP is in the process of taking further actions to reduce pressures on inflation and the current account, namely an increase in the interest rate on the export refinance scheme (EFS) and widening the set of import items subject to cash margin requirements. These items are mostly finished goods including luxury items and exclude raw materials.

    The announcement of these measures is expected soon and will complement the action taken by the MPC on interest rates.

    READ MORE: Rupee rebounds sharply on massive interest rate hike

  • SBP enhances transaction limits for Asaan accounts

    SBP enhances transaction limits for Asaan accounts

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday enhanced transaction limits for Assan accounts to further expand outreach of low risk accounts.

    As per the new limits for Assan Account, total debit per month shall be Rs 1 million and total credit balance limit has also been increased to Rs1 million.

    Previously this limit was Rs500,000

    The SBP while referring to BPRD Circular No. 11 of 2015 and BPRD Circular Letter No. 32 of 2017 regarding the captioned subject, wherein accounts namely Asaan Account and Asaan Remittance Account were introduced to extend benefits of financial services to unbanked/ under-banked segments of population.

    READ MORE: SBP issues list to impose 100% cash margin on import

    The transaction limits for Asaan Remittance Account are:

    •             Maximum Credit Balance Limit:          Rs. 3,000,000

    •             Cash withdrawal Limit:                      Rs. 500,000 per day

    •             Fund Transfer Limit:                          Rs. 500,000 per day to any other account

    •             Local Credit allowed:                         Rs. 1,000,000 per month

    •             No commercial remittance allowed

    Following guidelines issued through Circular No. 32 of 2017

    READ MORE: SBP raises mark-up rate for export financing scheme

    Asaan Remittance Account

    State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been actively pursuing the goal of financial inclusion in the country by expanding the outreach of banking services to all segments of society especially to the unbanked or under banked population. The strategy helps to increase documentation of economy, create saving habits among the masses for returns/profits on their savings and generates opportunities to access credit and insurance facilities through the formal financial sector.

    With the view to promote use of bank accounts by home remittance recipients (beneficiaries), SBP has decided that banks may open ‘Asaan Remittance Account’ of prospective beneficiaries of home remittances on the pattern of Asaan Account introduced by SBP vide BPRD Circular No. 11 dated June 22, 2015. This will facilitate opening of bank accounts by low risk customers to receive home remittances through proper accounts instead of resorting to traditional cash over the counter transactions.

    In this regard, due diligence and other controls specified for Asaan Account shall also be applicable for Asaan Remittance Account. However, following additional features shall apply while opening and maintaining these accounts:

    READ MORE: SBP allows commission payment to foreign brokers

    Account Opening Form: In addition to the requirements specified under Asaan Account Guidelines, account opening form should have IBAN of the Asaan Remittance Account and names of prospective remitter(s) stating relationship with the account holder as well.

    Limited mandate: This account shall be fed through Home Remittances from abroad only and no local credit shall be allowed in the account. Further, no commercial remittances shall be deposited in the account.

    Transaction Limits/Turnover: There will be (i) maximum credit balance limit of Rs. 2,000,000 (ii) cash withdrawal limit of Rs. 50,000 per day and (iii) fund transfer limit from Asaan Remittance Account to any other account of Rs. 50,000 per day.

    Banks/MFBs should launch awareness campaign to sensitize general public about the benefits of this product i.e. security, issuance of Proceeds Realization Certificate (PRC), timely credit and complaint resolution. Banks/MFBs may also coordinate with overseas employment promoters to reach potential remittance niche for opening of these accounts for self and family members.

    READ MORE: SBP increases policy rate sharply by 250bps to 12.25%

    The SBP issued following guidelines on June 22 2015:

    State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been actively promoting financial inclusion in the country by expanding outreach of banking services to all segments of the society through conventional and innovative channels. However, despite SBP’s efforts, a large portion of population still remains excluded from financial services. In order to enhance the financial inclusion in Pakistan, SBP has formulated a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) wherein a target of 50% growth in bank accounts by adult population by the year 2020 has been set out.

    2.         To facilitate the banking industry to achieve the aforesaid objective, SBP has decided to simplify account opening requirements/procedures and introduce a new account category namely “Asaan Account” for low risk customers. Accordingly, the comprehensive Guidelines with simplified account opening procedures have been developed. The simplified approach for opening of these accounts by banks is designed to extend benefits of financial services to common people especially unbanked/under banked segments of population.

    3. The banks may convert existing Basic Banking Accounts (BBAs) to Asaan Accounts provided prior consent of customers is obtained and Terms and Conditions of Asaan Account are conveyed to them. However, banks shall not recover any charges for conversion of BBAs to these accounts. Further, in case the Asaan Account holder requires financial services for higher than the specified transaction limits, the Asaan Account may be converted to regular account subject to completion of Customer Due Diligence as per ‘AML/CFT Regulations’ and ‘Guidelines on Risk Based Approach’ for Banks/DFIs and other applicable requirements.

    4.         To achieve the targets set out in NFIS, banks shall develop quarterly & yearly plans to open Asaan Accounts and submit quarterly reports to SBP as per the attached Annexure ‘A’ within seven days of close of each quarter. The first quarterly report as of September 30, 2015 should be submitted to this Department by October 07, 2015. The banks shall also launch public awareness/media campaigns to sensitize general public about the benefits of banking services and features of Asaan Account as per the Guidelines.

    5. The Guidelines for the Asaan Accounts are attached for compliance in letter and spirit which shall take immediate effect. Banks shall upgrade their systems, controls and procedures in accordance with these Guidelines to incorporate the requirements of Asaan Account latest by July 31, 2015.

  • Rupee continues recovery to dollar for 4th straight day

    Rupee continues recovery to dollar for 4th straight day

    KARACHI: The Pakistan Rupee (PKR) continued to make recovery for the fourth straight day against the dollar on Wednesday since sharp enhancement in policy rate to 12.25 per cent.

    The rupee ended Rs181.82 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs182.02 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: Rupee makes recovery to dollar for third straight day

    The rupee fell to all-time low at Rs188.18 to the dollar on April 07, 2022. On the same day the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced a massive raise in interest rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 per cent from 9.75 per cent.

    Prior to the policy rate increase the dollar was unabated for over a two week and rupee fell continuously.

    READ MORE: Rupee recovers sharply; dollar eases to Rs182.93

    The rupee recovered around Rs6.36 against the dollar since the increase in the policy rate. The local currency recorded all-time low of Rs188.18 to the dollar on April 07, 2022.

    The SBP noted that the recent developments necessitated a strong and proactive policy response.

    Accordingly, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided at its emergency meeting today, to raise the policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 percent.

    READ MORE: Rupee rebounds sharply on massive interest rate hike

    This increases forward-looking real interest rates (defined as the policy rate less expected inflation) to mildly positive territory. The MPC was of the view that this action would help to safeguard external and price stability.

    The MPC also noted that SBP is in the process of taking further actions to reduce pressures on inflation and the current account, namely an increase in the interest rate on the export refinance scheme (EFS) and widening the set of import items subject to cash margin requirements. These items are mostly finished goods including luxury items and exclude raw materials.

    The announcement of these measures is expected soon and will complement the action taken by the MPC on interest rates.

    READ MORE: PKR witnesses record single day fall to dollar