Sell your dollars now as you won’t get a better exchange rate than the one market currently offers, namely Rs270, this is the advice from the former spokesperson of the finance ministry, Muzammil Aslam, for all the exporters and others who have dollars in their lockers.

“The rate of dollar at Rs270 is a lottery for you,” he said in a video he posted to social media on Tuesday.

He was of the view that exporters who had apparently kept their dollars abroad should cash the opportunity.

The rupee fell by Rs38.85 against the dollar in the inter-bank market last week. The local currency had a major fall when the currency dealers removed the unofficial dollar cap on Thursday and the government allowed a free-floating exchange rate in the interbank market.

Aslam’s video on Twitter was especially for the exports and people reluctant to bring their money home amid the uncertainty surrounding the economy and currency rate.

“Sometimes, a person won’t cash in the lottery due to their greediness and then regret. You will regret it as you cannot get a better rate than this,” he reiterated and added that exporters should not have gotten a rate of more than Rs250 but it was due to mismanagement of the PDM government that US dollar went to Rs270.

He blamed the government’s apparent incompetence, mistakes, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s stubbornness for the staggering economy.

Aslam, who belongs to the PTI, went on to add that the dollar rate could fall to Rs230 if the finance czar “works properly”.

There was also a message for those who were sneaking to hoard dollars.

He wondered what such people get by keeping the US currency to themselves. The dollar would only increase by Rs5 to Rs10, Aslam claimed, adding that the government was offering more than this to them.

The people would get 15% profit if they keep the money, received after selling dollars, in banks, the former finance ministry spokesperson said. Both options of Islamic and non-Islamic banking were available for the intended customers.

“Fifteen per cent [profit] means that you will get Rs40 on every Rs270 after a year. So 270 added to Rs40 mean 310 whereas the dollar rate will not reach this rate for the next three years.”

He claimed that dollars available in the country were more than the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan which fell to $3.5 billion with the slump in the rupee’s value. According to Aslam, greenbacks were apparently present in people’s lockers and currency circulation. Moreover, there was more abundant gold in Pakistan than needed.

“The market at some point corrects itself and I am talking about the benefit of the people,” he said.