$67.3 Million
According to data released by the central bank on Thursday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) saw its foreign exchange reserves rise by $67.3 million or 0.88% WoW to reach $7.71 billion by the week ending on October 13, 2023.
In contrast, the country’s total reserves decreased by $117.2 million or 0.9% WoW to $12.91 billion. Commercial banks witnessed a decrease in their reserves, which fell by $184.5 million or 3.43% WoW to $5.2 billion.
It’s worth noting that the country’s total liquid foreign reserves experienced a significant boost after the signing of the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This boost included a $1.2 billion immediate disbursement from the IMF, a $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia, and an additional $1 billion deposit from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Consequently, during the current fiscal year, total liquid foreign reserves increased by $3.73 billion or 40.64%.
However, after the initial boost from the IMF and the Arab countries, recent inflows appear to have slowed down, with total reserves gradually depleting almost every week. Meanwhile, the current calendar year has witnessed an increase of $2.07 billion or 19.07%.
Pakistan Foreign Office Rejects Netanyahu’s Statement on Threat Perception
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement regarding the alleged threat posed by Pakistan to Israel.
Pakistan, as clarified by FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during a weekly press briefing, is a peaceful nation.
In response to a query, the spokesperson affirmed that Pakistan has no intention of deploying its military forces to Gaza. She expressed Pakistan’s deep concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza resulting from Israel’s aggression and stressed that deliberate attacks on civilian targets are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.
