No plan to restrict RDA, FCA and safety deposit lockers: Pakistan central bank

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Pakistan central bank on Monday refuted baseless claims circulating on social media regarding foreign currency accounts (FCA), Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) and safety deposit lockers and said that there is no proposal under consideration to put any restriction on them.

In a joint statement, State Bank of Pakistan and Ministry of Finance said the Government of Pakistan assure all account holders maintaining FCA, RDA and safety deposit lockers in banks in Pakistan that their accounts and lockers are completely safe.

Rumours are circulating on social media that the Government or State Bank is considering freezing or placing restrictions on withdrawals from FCA, RDA and safety deposit lockers. Some media reports also indicate that the government is considering to impose ‘economic emergency’ in the country to contain rising current account deficit.

“Such rumours are absolutely incorrect and baseless. It is clarified that such a proposal has neither been considered presently nor in the past,” the statement said.

Moreover, foreign currency accounts including RDA are legally protected under the Foreign Currency Accounts (Protection) Ordinance 2001, and the Government and the State Bank are committed to protecting all the financial assets in Pakistan including the ones mentioned above, it added.

The Government and State Bank are taking all necessary measures to ensure macroeconomic stability in the country. The recent difficult decisions taken by the government, including the reduction of subsidy on petroleum products, will pave the way to reach an agreement with the IMF and release of the IMF tranche and financial assistance from other multilateral agencies and friendly countries.

“We are confident that these measures will relieve the temporary stress being faced due to elevated global commodity prices and geo political tensions, and eliminate uncertainty in the economy,” according to the statement.