The contents of bank lockers prior to the Maulana Fazlullah-led insurgency is estimated to be worth more than Rs100 million. Jewellery, prize bonds, precious metals, cash and other important documents were stored in these lockers, according to the Bank Lockers Association Swat.
During the military operation, when most people were away from their homes, nearly all the banks in the region were plundered by the Taliban, and the contents of lockers were no exception.
When people came back home in July, bank lockers users demanded access to the things they had left behind in the lockers. But the bank administrations refused to comply.
Even written appeals to the chief justice, the president, the prime minister, chief minister and governor State Bank of Pakistan bore no results, according to the association.
Haji Iqbal Mand, vice-president of the association, told The Express Tribune, “We had secure lockers in Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and United Bank Limited (UBL) before the displacement. We regularly paid the bank fee but after we returned and asked for our belongings, the banks refused. We don’t know where to go for help, we suffered a lot.”
Even though Allied Bank did pay a compensation of up to Rs700,000 to those who were able to prove the value of their belongings, other banks have not been so co-operative.
According to Iqbal Mand, the value of jewellery alone was Rs27.87 million in UBL, Rs42.62 million in HBL and Rs22.91 million in MCB.
“We have struggled enough, now we cannot stand by and accept the attitude of the banks’ staffs,” he said.
Zahoor, a resident of the Ghalegey area, said, “I had a locker in MCB, where I had kept about two kilograms of gold. The bank administration told me to fill-in a claim form when I went to them. But after I had submitted the documents they completely refused to reimburse me [for my losses].”
“Security forces have even recovered looted windows and doors, so why were they unable to recover the jewellery?” Zahoor said.
He added, “The banks were looted in front of thousands of people so it should be very easy to trace the culprits.”
Officials of the banks, when approached, refused to discuss the subject saying they first needed permission from their superiors.
Analysts say banks might not be liable for these losses because insurance coverage often does not extend over war.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.
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