Amid reports that the ‘unofficial’ cap on the Dollar’s value was being removed by forex traders, Pakistani rupee fell on Thursday by Rs.24.5 or 9.6% against the dollar. The currency’s official value closed at 255.4 rupees against the dollar versus 230.9 on Wednesday, the central bank said.

The drop in the official rate was the biggest since 1999 in both absolute and percentage terms.

The dollar is selling at Rs. 262 in the open market, a gap of over six rupees from the official interbank rate.

The day began with the dollar officially equal to Rs 231. However, the rate plummeted as soon as trading began for the day. The sudden rise has been associated with the recent decision to remove ‘unofficial restrictions’ that have kept the Dollar at an artificially low rate.

Malik Bostan, president of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) has recently said that the cap placed by State Bank had created a huge gap between the interbank and open market rate of the dollar.

Reacting to Thursday’s increase, Bostan said he stood by his earlier statement because placing a cap on the dollar’s value was ‘against the country’s interest’. He added that the finance ministry’s policy had caused Pakistan to lose dollars.

“You can’t dictate the market,” Bostan told Aaj News.

The dollar was selling for under Rs 180 when the PDM government took over, but has continued a steady climb.

Former finance minsiter Shaukat Tarin said that the current regime was trying to run the country against the fundamentals of economics.

“The gap between market and interbank should not have allowed to become so large,” Tarin said.

PTI leader Asad Umar also said that those who had claimed the dollar would fall below 200 have now pushed it past 240.

“Who will take responsibility for the loss of exports and remittances, for the thousands of businesses destroyed and hundreds of thousands unemployed,” he wrote on Twitter.

After taking oath as finance minister, Ishaq Dar had claimed in a TV interview that the dollar was ‘undervalued’ and that its real value was below 200.

However, as the IMF program continues to be stalled and Pakistan’s foreign reserves continue to dwindle, the minister has been under increasing pressure to let the currency’s value be determined by the market.