The Pakistani rupee (ISO code: PKR) is the official currency in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan. It was officially adopted by the Government of Pakistan in 1949. Earlier the coins and notes were issued and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India until 1949, when it was handed over to the Government and State Bank of Pakistan, by the Government and Reserve Bank of India.
In Pakistani English, large values of rupees are counted in thousands; lakh (hundred thousands); crore (ten-millions); arab (billion); kharab (hundred billion). Numbers are still grouped in thousands (123,456,789 rather than 12,34,56,789 as written in India)
The word rūpiya is derived from the Sanskrit word rūpya, which means “wrought silver, a coin of silver”,in origin an adjective meaning “shapely”, with a more specific meaning of “stamped, impressed”, whence “coin”. It is derived from the noun rūpa “shape, likeness, image”. Rūpaya was used to denote the coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his reign from 1540 to 1545 CE.
