Ishaq Dar, the federal minister of finance and revenue, stated on Wednesday that there was "absolutely no contemplation" of the government gaining access to foreign currency held by commercial banks.

He said, remembering that previously, he quoted the forex reserves figure based on this principle: "National foreign exchange reserves usually comprise forex held with [the State Bank of Pakistan] SBP and commercial banks."

The announcement follows the finance czar's claim that Pakistan has $10 billion in foreign exchange reserves, not $4 billion, because $6 billion held by commercial banks is also national property.

The remark caused widespread panic among the depositors, who feared a replay of 1999, when the government seized money held by private banks.

Without naming the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the finance minister claimed that the group had previously ruined the nation's economy. He also claimed that some "vested elements" had given his remarks a purposeful spin and launched a campaign suggesting that the government was considering access to foreign currency held by commercial banks.

According to Dar, the foreign currency that commercial banks hold is "in fact the property of the population."

Therefore, he said, "say misunderstood, misinterpreted, and mala fide propaganda should be discarded." He repeated that Pakistan was heading in the direction of an improvement in its situation with regard to its foreign exchange reserves in the near future.

The central bank's foreign exchange holdings fell to their lowest level since April 2014, totaling $5.577 billion on December 30, 2022, down from $5.822 billion on December 23, 2022.

Over the next three months (January through March) of the current fiscal year, Pakistan will be required to make repayments of over $8.3 billion in the form of repaying external debt.

The administration hopes to pass the IMF's ninth review in order to obtain a $1.7 billion bailout package, although neither side has made any significant progress recently.

Dar recounts the incident from 1999.

Dar highlighted that before 1999, every dollar that entered the country was deposited with the central bank and private banks were not permitted to store dollars in a press conference alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other federal cabinet members.

"In February 1999, while I served as finance minister, we developed a structure that allows a sizeable sum of money to stay with [private] institutions. On June 30, 1999, reserves with the SBP, commercial banks, and total were separated into three columns.

"The [total amount] is cited and then a breakdown is presented whenever Pakistan's reserves are quoted anyplace in the world—a survey or a paper. I also gave a breakdown," he continued.

"Some people had made the country's condition so much worse that it had fallen from being the 24th largest economy in 2016 to the 47th," the minister claimed.

"Even now, they cannot accept any positive progress. They gave [my remarks] such a twist, he continued, adding that while the federal cabinet was working hard for Pakistan under the leadership of PM Shehbaz, these individuals were circulating rumours that the government would steal money from banks.

Nothing like that will occur. Everything has been planned out and is in working order. Nothing to worry about, he said, urging those who were "spreading the rumours" to contribute to the good of the country.