Latest news with #FaisalNaseer
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan spy agency targets black market dollar trade to control rupee slide
A deputy chief at Pakistan's spy agency met with currency exchange firms this week amid a sharp slide in the rupee, leading to a crackdown on black market dollar trade, the head of the country's forex association told Reuters on Thursday. The move, a demonstration of the military's growing role in managing the economy, marks the second such intervention, following a 2023 army clamp down that halted an earlier sharp plunge in the currency, helping stabilize the exchange rate until this month. Currency dealers say the rupee is again under pressure as a result of dollar hoarding, cross-border smuggling, and banking restrictions that have driven demand to unregulated dealers offering quicker or better rates. Faisal Naseer, a major general heading the internal security arm of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence, met with exchange firms this week, according to Malik Muhammad Bostan, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. Following the meeting, security forces, including the Federal Investigation Agency - a civilian security agency - began targeting illegal currency dealers, many of whom subsequently went underground, he said. The open market dollar rate was down one rupee following the intervention, said Bostan, who credited the enforcement drive and a resulting improvement in the supply of dollars to the market. A spokesperson for the military's media wing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Border controls with Iran and Afghanistan were tightened during tensions with India earlier this year, curbing illicit currency flows. But with checks now eased and the central bank buying dollars to build reserves, formal supply is under strain, Bostan said. Under Pakistan's $7 billion program with the International Monetary Fund, authorities have pledged to keep the gap between the interbank and open market rates within 1.25 percent to prevent remittances - crucial to maintaining foreign exchange levels - from shifting to informal channels and eroding reserves. Despite this week's crackdown, dollars are still not available in upscale areas of the commercial hub Karachi, pushing buyers to the grey market, where rates remain about 5 percent above interbank, said Adnan Sheikh of Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Pakistan spy agency targets black market dollar trade to curb rupee slide
KARACHI, July 24 (Reuters) - A deputy chief at Pakistan's spy agency met with currency exchange firms this week amid a sharp slide in the rupee, leading to a crackdown on black market dollar trade, the head of the country's forex association told Reuters on Thursday. The move, a demonstration of the military's growing role in managing the economy, marks the second such intervention, following a 2023 army clamp down that halted an earlier sharp plunge in the currency, helping stabilise the exchange rate until this month. Currency dealers say the rupee is again under pressure as a result of dollar hoarding, cross-border smuggling, and banking restrictions that have driven demand to unregulated dealers offering quicker or better rates. Faisal Naseer, a major general heading the internal security arm of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence, met with exchange firms this week, according to Malik Muhammad Bostan, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. Following the meeting, security forces, including the Federal Investigation Agency - a civilian security agency - began targeting illegal currency dealers, many of whom subsequently went underground, he said. The open market dollar rate was down one rupee following the intervention, said Bostan, who credited the enforcement drive and a resulting improvement in the supply of dollars to the market. A spokesperson for the military's media wing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Border controls with Iran and Afghanistan were tightened during tensions with India earlier this year, curbing illicit currency flows. But with checks now eased and the central bank buying dollars to build reserves, formal supply is under strain, Bostan said. Under Pakistan's $7 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund, authorities have pledged to keep the gap between the interbank and open market rates within 1.25% to prevent remittances - crucial to maintaining foreign exchange levels - from shifting to informal channels and eroding reserves. Despite this week's crackdown, dollars are still not available in upscale areas of the commercial hub Karachi, pushing buyers to the grey market, where rates remain about 5% above interbank, said Adnan Sheikh of Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Pakistan Army Intelligence Officer Meets FX Body as Rupee Falls
A group of private foreign exchange companies in Pakistan met with the head of an intelligence department this week to discuss the local rupee's slump. 'We briefed them about the current currency market situation,' said Malik Bostan, the chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, referring to a July 22 meeting with Major General Faisal Naseer, a director general in the Inter-Services Intelligence.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Currency smugglers: LEAs decide to intensify crackdown
KARACHI: Law enforcement agencies have decided to intensify their crackdown on currency smugglers and unauthorized money dealers, accordingly, on Wednesday, FIA teams conducted intelligence-based raids, contributing to a decline in the dollar rate in the open market. According to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the action followed a meeting between ECAP Chairman Malik Muhammad Bostan and members with Director General (C) ISI, Major General Faisal Naseer, at his office in Islamabad on Tuesday. According a statement issued by the ECAP, during the meeting, Major General Faisal Naseer inquired about the reason of recent sharp increase in the exchange rate. In response, Malik Bostan explained that the surge is due to smuggling of dollars and other foreign currencies to Iran and Afghanistan. Additionally, he highlighted that agents of these smugglers trap customers outside legal exchange companies by offering better rates and then they take these customers to secret offices to buy foreign currencies at black market rates. This move of smugglers is preventing customers from reaching legal exchange counters and, due to higher rates in the black market the supply of dollars is decreasing daily. Bostan further mentioned that due to new FBR regulations, any purchase above Rs. 200,000 made in cash (rather than through banking channels) results in the imposition of tax on the seller. Consequently, many non-filer customers, to hide their identities, are buying and hoarding foreign currencies from the black market at large scale. He suggested that the government should not impose any tax on purchase of $2,000 in foreign currency. This would reduce the demand for dollars and help bring down the exchange rate quickly, he added. According to Malik Bostan, Major General Faisal Naseer responded positively and said he would discuss this proposal with the government. Moreover, he immediately ordered law enforcement agencies to launch a crackdown on currency smugglers and arrest them. As a result of this action, the smuggling mafia reportedly went underground by Wednesday. Bostan further said that on Wednesday FIA teams conducted intelligence-based raids, which led to a drop in the market dollar rate from Rs. 288.60 to Rs. 288, and in the interbank market, the rate dropped from Rs. 285 to Rs. 284.80 per dollar. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan rupee gains amid reported crackdown against US dollar smugglers
KARACHI: Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have reportedly launched a crackdown against foreign currency smugglers, aiming to prevent the illegal outflow of the currencies such as US dollars to neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan and Iran. The raids led to some appreciation of the rupee against US dollar on Wednesday, according to Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) chairman Malik Muhammad Bostan. In a press statement, Bostan said the action helped the domestic currency recovering by Re0.60 to Rs288 a US dollar during intra-day trading in the open market on Wednesday. Pakistan's real effective exchange rate hits 21-month low in June 2025 'FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] teams, acting on secret intelligence, conducted large-scale raids today [Wednesday] against currency smugglers, due to which the dollar rate dropped in the open market and in the interbank market as well,' Bostan said. In the inter-bank market, the domestic currency recovered by Rs0.21 – a higher gain in a day compared to recent weeks and months – and closed at Rs284.76/$ on Wednesday compared to Tuesday's close at Rs284.97/$, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This was relatively a bigger recovery in a day compared to usual fluctuation seen in the recent weeks, it was learnt. Bostan said he had led a currency dealers' delegation to Director General of Counter‑Intelligence (DGC) General Faisal Naseer at the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) in Islamabad on Tuesday. Sunridge raises Rs2bn via Pakistan's first agri-infrastructure sukuk When asked about the dollar rate rising in Pakistan, Bostan attributed the reason to currency smuggling to Iran and Afghanistan, according to ECAP statement. 'Due to higher black market rates, the supply of dollars is decreasing to legal currency dealers day-by-day,' he had said. 'On this, General Faisal Naseer immediately ordered law enforcement agencies to crack down on currency smugglers and arrest them. As a result of this action, the currency smuggler mafia has gone underground today [Wednesday].' 'If the FIA continues this crackdown against currency smugglers and hundi-hawala operators, in the coming days, the dollar rate could fall further — from Rs280/$ to Rs270/$ and even to Rs250/$,' Bostan was quoted as saying in the ECAP statement.
