KARACHI, Aug 05 (APP): The Exchange Rates Committee of Financial Markets Association of Pakistan issued the following exchange rates bulletin, here on Tuesday.
CONVERSION RATES FOR AUG 05, 2025 FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY FOR FORWARD COVER FOR DEPOSITS (EXCLUDING FE 25 DEPOSITS)
SBP SETTLEMENT VALUE DATE AUGUST 07, 2025
USD 282.6126
GBP 375.1117
EUR 326.6719
JPY 1.9106
ASTANA, Aug 05 (Kazinform/APP) : Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat on said the country achieved a record $25 billion worth of exports in July, Anadolu reports.
“We achieved the highest monthly export figure in our history this July. This marks not only the highest July export figure ever recorded, but also the highest 12-month cumulative goods export volume in our nation’s history,” Bolat told a press conference in the province of Samsun.
He highlighted another positive development, noting a slowdown in the pace of monthly import growth and a significant narrowing of the foreign trade deficit in July, compared to the same month last year and June. He added that the export-to-import coverage ratio also improved.
“This is what we call a ‘legendary month,’ six major achievements in one. We reached an all-time high in monthly exports at $25 billion, up from $22.5 billion in July last year, an increase of $2.5 billion, or 11%. This gain also contributed an additional $2.5 billion to our 12-month cumulative exports,” he said.
Bolat said exports in July saw an increase of $4.5 billion compared to June, adding that the next target is to reach $26 billion in monthly exports. “Our extraordinary efforts are reinforcing the process of rebalancing and stabilizing our economy,” he emphasized.
The minister said imports rose by 5.4% in July to $31.4 billion, noting that import levels remain stable and reasonable. He said the foreign trade deficit dropped to $6.4 billion last month, down 12% from $7.3 billion in July 2024, marking the lowest deficit in the past nine months.
Bolat also touched on services exports, noting that Türkiye reached $106 billion in 2023 and $115 billion in 2024, with a target of $121 billion set for 2025.
He said recent global conflicts, ranging from trade wars and tariff disputes, have caused sharp disruptions in global trade, growth, and commodity prices, including energy and gold. He said Türkiye continues its trade diplomacy through multilateral, bilateral, regional, and global agreements.
He noted positive progress with the European Commission, saying that 14 trade barriers have been removed, with nine to 10 remaining. Emphasizing the goal to modernize the Customs Union, Bolat recalled that as a result of constructive talks, a directive was issued to grant longer-term visas to Turkish citizens who have previously traveled to the EU and returned regularly.
TASHKENT, Aug 05 (UzA/APP) : Upon arrival in the city of Turkmenbashi, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the National Leader of the Turkmen People, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
At the beginning of the conversation, the President of Uzbekistan sincerely congratulated Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the successful organization of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, emphasizing the vital importance of the issues included on its agenda for the sustainable development of the region.
The parties reviewed current matters related to strengthening good neighborliness and strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the context of the agreements reached during the meeting in the city of Samarkand in April this year.
The growing momentum of multifaceted cooperation, based on the principles of friendship, mutual trust, and consideration of common interests, was noted with deep satisfaction.
Fruitful and active contacts continue at all levels. Since the beginning of the year, trade turnover has reached $600 million. Cooperation is deepening in industry, energy, transport, agriculture, and water management, as well as other sectors of the economy.
A joint border trade zone, “Shavat – Dashoguz”, is being established. Active interregional contacts and humanitarian exchanges are ongoing.
As part of preparations for the upcoming high-level meetings, sessions of intergovernmental commissions, the Business Council, the Regional Forum, and several cultural events are planned.
A detailed exchange of views also took place regarding the agenda of the UN Conference and the upcoming Seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, scheduled for this autumn in the city of Tashkent.
RAWALPINDI, Aug 05 (APP): On the occasion of Youm-e-Istehsal, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI(M), along with the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and the Pakistan Armed Forces, reaffirm their unwavering solidarity with the resilient and courageous people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The Armed Forces of Pakistan fully support the legitimate and ongoing struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in international law and UN Security Council resolutions, said a news release by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The continued illegal occupation of IIOJK by Indian security forces—characterized by an unrelenting military siege, systemic human rights violations, and demographic engineering—constitutes a grave breach of international norms and remains a matter of deep concern. India’s repressive actions, coupled with its belligerent posture and incendiary rhetoric, serve only to exacerbate regional instability and perpetuate human suffering, it further said.
It is unequivocally evident that durable peace in South Asia remains unattainable without the just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and relevant UN resolutions.
“The Pakistan Armed Forces pay solemn tribute to the martyrs of IIOJK and reiterate their enduring commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Kashmiri people in their just and rightful struggle for freedom,” the news release said.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 05 (APP): Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, have urged US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel’s leadership to end the war in Gaza even as it vows to expand its fighting in the besieged strip, a call welcomed by the United Nations.
“It is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,” the former officials wrote in an open letter, shared with the media on Monday.
“At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,” said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service.
The war, nearing its 23rd month, “is leading the state of Israel to lose its security and identity”, Ayalon warned in a video released to accompany the letter.
Asked for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ reaction to the letter, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Aziz Haq, told regular noon briefing in New York, “The Secretary-General supports all appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“He has long believed that what is necessary is an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages and unobstructed humanitarian access throughout Gaza,” Farhan Haq added.
On his part, Ami Ayalon, former Shin Bet chief, says the war in Gaza is no longer just and is now threatening Israel’s security and identity. Signed by 550 people, including former chiefs of Shin Bet and the Mossad spy agency, the letter called on President Trump to “steer” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards a ceasefire.
Separately, 19 former Israeli security chiefs, including former heads of the army, intelligence services and police, appeared in a video on Monday calling for the war to end. They said they all “sat in cabinet meetings, operated in the inner circles, attended all the most sensitive decision-making processes”.
“Together they have more than a thousands years’ experience in national security and in diplomacy,” they added in the video, in which they declared that Israel is “on the precipice of defeat”.
Netanyahu on Monday said he would convene a cabinet meeting later in the week to decide on how to proceed in the war. Ministers will instruct troops on “how to achieve the three war objectives we have set,” the Israeli leader said. “We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve them.”
Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians – mostly children and women – and caused starvation by using aid as a weapon.
In recent weeks, Israel has come under increasing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire that could see the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza released and UN agencies distribute humanitarian aid. But some in Israel, including ministers in Netanyahu’s coalition government, are instead pushing for Israeli troops to push on and for Gaza to be occupied in whole or in part.
Shortly after the letter was published, the US outlet Axios reported that more than a dozen Democrats in the House of Representatives had signed a letter urging President Trump to recognize a Palestinian state, a significant development in the staunchly pro-Israel party.
Despite mounting condemnation, the Israeli outlet Haaretz reported on Sunday that the military leadership is expected to approve plans to expand operations in Gaza and free hostages “by force”. The reported proposals include starting operations inside refugee camps and areas where operations have so far not taken place for fear of harming hostages being held there.
Three former Mossad leaders signed the letter. Other signatories include five former leaders of Shin Bet and three former military chiefs of staff.
The letter argued that the Israeli army “has long accomplished the two objectives that could be achieved by force: dismantling Hamas’s military formations and governance”.
“The third, and most important, can only be achieved through a deal: bringing all the hostages home,” it added. “Chasing remaining senior Hamas operatives can be done later,” the letter said.
In the letter, the former officials tell President Trump that he has credibility with the majority of Israelis and can put pressure on Netanyahu to end the war and return the hostages.
After a ceasefire, the signatories argue, President rump could force a regional coalition to support a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of Gaza as an alternative to Hamas rule.
ISLAMABAD, Aug 05 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday termed August 5 as the “darkest day” in history, while strongly condemning India’s illegal action of stripping Kashmir of its special status on the same day in 2019.
In a video statement, the minister said that the August 5 is observed as ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’ globally to condemn the revocation of fundamental rights for Kashmiris by the Indian government.
He said India took this draconian move to further strengthen its illegal occupation and hide its oppression of the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Reaffirming Pakistan’s steadfast commitment, Tarar stated that every Pakistani citizen stands with their Kashmiri brethren like a solid wall.
He stressed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve their right to self-determination, in line with United Nations resolutions.
The minister added that the Indian government has been thoroughly exposed for its brutalities and its illegal hold over the region.
“The entire world has witnessed India’s human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir,” he said.
In his statement, Tarar also underscored the deep connection between Pakistan and Kashmir, declaring that “every citizen of Pakistan considers Kashmir their jugular vein.”
Tarar reiterated Pakistan’s solidarity with the Kashmiri people and expressed the hope that India’s usurping action would be reversed, and Kashmiris would eventually gain their rights.
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