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Pakistan rupee drops to record low against UAE dirham after Imran Khan arrest

Clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police, prompting interior ministry to suspend mobile broadband services in the country

Published: Wed 10 May 2023, 12:54 PM

Updated: Wed 10 May 2023, 1:04 PM

  • By
  • Reuters

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The Pakistani rupee weakened 1.3% to a new record low of 288.5 against the U.S. dollar (Dh78.89) on Wednesday, a day after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested by the anti-corruption agency in Islamabad.

Following the arrest, clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police, leaving at least one protester dead. The interior ministry has suspended mobile broadband services in the country.

On April 4, the rupee hit an all-time low against the US dollar and the UAE dirham on due to political uncertainty and judicial crisis, prompting the South Asian country’s central bank to hike interest rates by 100 basis points.

Data on xe.com showed the rupee plummeting to a record low of 288 against the US dollar (78.47 against the UAE dirham).

Khan arrested

Pakistan's anti-corruption agency arrested former prime minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court on Tuesday, threatening fresh turmoil in the nuclear-armed country as clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police, killing at least one protester.

Khan's arrest comes a day after the powerful military rebuked him for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last year.

Dozens of paramilitary troops in riot-control gear surrounded Khan - Pakistan's most popular leader according to opinion polls - and led him into a black van by his arm.

Authorities in three of Pakistan's four provinces imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings after Khan's supporters clashed with police, blocked major roads in a string of cities and stormed military buildings in Lahore and Rawalpindi, according to witnesses and videos shared by his party.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos. The military's public relations wing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The clashes killed one of the protesters and injured 12 people, including six police officers in the southern city of Quetta, provincial home minister Ziaullah Langove said.

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