It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that loans were given to landlords, industrialists and politicians.
LAHORE: According to a report in your newspaper, the State Bank of Pakistan has prayed to the Supreme Court to constitute a commission to examine different aspects of cases where loans were waived for political reasons. The said commission will also identify the legal difficulties faced by banks to recover the loaned amount from borrowers. The commission will submit its interim report within 180 days and its final report, both to the Supreme Court, within a year of its first convening. The commission will also request the Supreme Court to remove all impediment and legal objections the banks are facing in the recovery of loans.
One hopes that this will not be an attempt — since many have been made in the past — to push such a pressing matter under the proverbial carpet. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that loans were given to landlords, industrialists, businessmen and politicians and that this was done with the connivance of bank officers.
The question is how many loans were given to ordinary people and were written off? The Supreme Court should not accept the proposals of forming a commission. Rather, it should issue a directive that all borrowers must return their loans within 30 days or face the law.
Engr ST Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2011.
