Dr Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), said on Sunday that Pakistan’s economy cannot be stable in the presence of currency exchange companies and Afghan transit trade. Any currency dealers provide services to the corrupt elements and send the capital collected through take out of the country. This sector has become a source for money laundering, he added.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said today that the freedom given to exchange companies in Pakistan does not exist anywhere on earth. The developed countries do not dare adopt such a system that a debtor country like ours has adopted, which has shaken the country’s foundations.

He said that goods worth billions of dollars are being smuggled through the Afghan transit trade without consumption in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of containers destined for Afghanistan are being emptied in Karachi and other cities, thereby depriving the local industry of its fair share and hitting revenue, he said, adding that many politicians and corrupt elements in almost all institutions are involved in this scam and are ruining the country to fill their pockets.

Dr. Mughal said that the economy of Afghanistan has become stable. A dollar is available for 80 Afghanis there, while in Pakistan, the dollar has crossed the triple century, so the Afghan government should be asked to import all the goods for their needs through Iran.

Suppose the trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan is restricted and strictly monitored. In that case, the local currency will stabilise, the dollar will weaken, and the crisis of flour, sugar, cooking oil, milk, pulses, and other commodities will stop in the country.

It will also reduce the price of many items in Pakistan, including rice, steel bars, cement, urea, etc.