Ashfaq Tola Tells Govt to Set Rupee at Rs. 250/$ to Revive Economy

Former Chairman Institute of Chartered Accounts of Pakistan (ICAP) Ashfaq Tola has proposed improving the value of the Pakistani rupee (PKR) to Rs. 250 against the US dollar and offering a Rs. 10 per dollar incentive for remittances sent through formal banking channels.

He said the measures could help lower inflation and boost foreign exchange inflows.

In a model budget prepared for FY27, Tola claimed that adjusting the exchange rate to Rs. 250 per dollar could reduce inflation by as much as 6 percent.

The proposal also recommends rewarding overseas Pakistanis who send money through banks rather than informal hawala and hundi networks, with the aim of increasing remittance inflows.

According to the document, Pakistan’s economy remains caught between the need to support domestic growth and the requirement to comply with International Monetary Fund conditions. The model budget argues that strict IMF-backed policies could undermine long-term economic stability.

The proposal estimates that IMF-driven measures could result in a fiscal deficit of 4.4 percent of GDP, while a reform strategy focused on domestic revenue measures and tax reforms could potentially reduce the deficit to 2.1 percent of GDP.

The model budget also recommends tax exemptions for the information technology sector to accelerate export growth, while calling for greater taxation of agriculture to broaden the country’s revenue base.

Other recommendations include accelerating the privatization of state-owned enterprises to reduce pressure on public finances and removing regulatory hurdles to encourage private sector investment and growth.

Tola’s proposal further suggests offering tax amnesty or exemptions on repatriated foreign assets, arguing that such a measure could attract up to US$20 billion in investment into Pakistan’s economy.