Punjab

Body discusses challenges of eliminating Riba

Finance minister reiterates govt’s commitment to promoting Islamic finance

Our Correspondent April 08, 2023

Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar virtually chaired 2nd meeting of Steering Committee on implementation of Federal Shariat Court (FSC)’s judgment on Riba. PHOTO: Finance Ministry Twitter

ISLAMABAD:

A steering committee formed with the task of implementing the Federal Shariat Court’s (FSC) judgement on Riba discussed the demand and supply-side challenges being faced by the task force in eliminating Riba from the financial system.

It also deliberated on various measures that could be taken to address the challenges within the timeframe.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mohammad Ishaq Dar virtually chaired the second meeting of the steering committee.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, secretary finance, members of the steering committee and senior officers of the Finance Division attended the meeting.

The finance minister emphasised the commitment of the government to promoting Islamic finance and eliminating the interest-based system in Pakistan in true spirit.

He assured the committee of all-out support of the finance ministry for achieving its mandate and the desired objectives.

The minister appreciated the significant progress made since the formulation of a transformation plan developed by the central bank in terms of awareness, capacity building, legal and regulatory reforms, and adoption of international standards for the purpose of converting conventional banking systems into Shariah-compliant systems.

He expressed confidence that under the chairmanship of SBP governor, the committee would be able to finish the task efficiently.

Dar gave directives to all stakeholders to work with commitment, sincerity and understanding to overcome all hurdles in the way of implementing an interest-free system and making the system feasible and stronger that all citizens would aspire for.

Late last year, the government announced that it would implement the FSC decision, implying that the existing interest-based banking system would be transformed into an interest-free model in the next five years.

Dar said at that time that the SBP and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were withdrawing their appeals against the FSC.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2023.

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