Claim: The rate of the US dollar against the Pakistani rupee (USD-PKR) fell by 18 to 20 rupees in the open market in July 2023.
Fact: This claim is false. The USD-PKR rate fell by 12 rupees in the interbank market and 10.7 rupees in the open market between 3 July and 8 July 2023, according to the State Bank of Pakistan and various currency exchange websites.
On 3 Juyy 2023, Twitter user @Tahirmughalpml8 posted a screenshot of an ARY News headline with the caption, “وپن مارکیٹ میں ڈالر 18 سے 20 روپے نیچے آ گیا ۔۔۔ جیو اسحاق ڈار صاحب” [Translation: The Dollar price has fallen by 18 to 20 rupees in the open market. Long live Ishaq Dar.]
The alleged ARY News headline reported that the finance minister and PML-N member Ishaq Dar promised to reduce the dollar rate by 18 to 20 rupees.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found that ARY News had indeed published an article reporting that Dar promised the USD-PKR rate would fall by 18 to 20 rupees. The article, which was published on 3 July 2023, also reports on a tweet the finance minister posted the same day.
Later on the same day, he retweeted and shared several tweets implying that the dollar rate had gone down but did not specify how much the rupee had appreciated. On 4 July 2023, Ishaq Dar retweeted a post by Daily Minute Mirror, which claims, “the US dollar fell by Rs15 to Rs271 in the interbank market, according to the @StateBank_Pak, which closed at Rs285.99 on the last day before the Eid holidays.” The Eid holidays were scheduled from 29 June to 1 July 2023.
However, according to forex.pk, the open market rate for the US dollar on 3 July 2023 was 279.0.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s official website shows that the USD exchange rate has been updated six times between 1 and 12 July and 19 times in June. All the changes in July and the last ten changes made in June are noted below and do not reflect the 18 to 20 rupee drop stated in the ARY News headline.
| June updates on the USD rate | July updates on the USD rate |
| 14 June 2023: PKR 287.1846 | 4 July 2023: PKR 275.4377 |
| 15 June 2023: PKR 287.3669 | 5 July 2023: PKR 277.4076 |
| 16 June 2023: PKR 287.1941 | 6 July 2023: PKR 277.0389 |
| 19 June 2023: PKR 287.2551 | 7 July 2023: PKR 277.8972 |
| 20 June 2023: PKR 287.2155 | 10 July 2023: PKR 279.8045 |
| 21 June 2023: PKR 286.9772 | 11 July 2023: PKR 278.5675 |
| 22 June 2023: PKR 286.7306 | |
| 26 June 2023: PKR 286.7091 | |
| 27 June 2023: PKR 285.9905 |
It is clear that after 15 June 2023, the dollar rate began to go down, and until 3 July 2023, the dollar was down by 11.9292 rupees and not 18 to 20 rupees.
Virality
The tweet was viewed more than 43,500 times and received more than 1500 interactions on Twitter.
The same ARY headline screenshot was shared on Facebook here, here, here, here, and the same claim was also shared here.
Conclusion: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar spread misinformation regarding the USD-PKR open market exchange rate.
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