KARACHI – Mounting pressure from authorities and trade bodies has reignited calls for transparency in Pakistan’s gold trade, following ongoing concerns around price manipulation, undocumented transactions, and alleged smuggling.
In a high-level meeting held in Islamabad, bullion traders were asked to collaborate with security agencies to implement structural reforms. Qasim Shikarpuri, President of the All Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (ASSGJA), was directed to form a 15-member national committee tasked with ensuring regulated daily pricing and curbing speculative rate-setting via informal channels like WhatsApp.
The development comes weeks after an FIA crackdown in Karachi, which led to the seizure of millions in cash and gold, with several jewellers escaping accountability. Despite repeated promises of self-regulation by the gold trade community, past assurances have failed to curb illegal practices.
While the Karachi Bullion Exchange remains closed since September 3, 2024, ASSGJA continues to release gold prices based on interbank rupee-dollar parity—an approach that many experts deem disconnected from actual market supply and demand.
Traders have also urged the removal of SRO 924(I)/2020, which places jewellers under anti-money laundering obligations they claim are impractical and stifling for the industry.
The authorities are now focusing on enforcing digitised documentation, standardised pricing, and formal trade practices to bring the sector into a regulated financial framework.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.